Peter's POV

That night I hardly slept. Nikki was a friend now, and even though I didn't want to pry, I couldn't help wondering, and occasionally asking what was wrong. The fear of making noise, never eating when I offered her things, the falling...she really worried me. I wanted to be helpful, but she couldn't seem to trust me.

By morning, I had the beginnings of an idea that I hoped would work.

"Hey, Mr. Stark." I jumped in front of him as he was walking through the kitchen, leaving him nowhere to hide from me.

"What do you want this time, kid."

"I want to let Nikki live here. At the tower."

He raised an eyebrow, looking at me questioningly. "You want your...friend to stay...here? Why?"

I spoke quickly, not allowing myself time to back out. "Because she's only my age and she's living alone and I looked it up and rent prices are going up like a lot and I just think she could use a place to stay." I left out the other worries I had for her, knowing that they'd come up eventually anyways.

He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, then seemed to change his mind and sighed instead.

"Fine."

My eyes widened, surprised that it had only taken this much to convince him. "Really?"

"She's here with you so often anyways...I suppose it wouldn't even really make that much of a difference. So fine."

"Thank you Mr. Stark!" In my excitement, I impulsively grabbed him in a quick hug, then went to my room to text Nikki.

Nikki's POV

I groaned as my phone buzzed for what felt like the hundredth time. Who in the world texts this many times in five minutes?? I tried going back to the book I was reading, but after a few minutes curiosity got the better of me. I tapped my phone screen so that it would turn on and looked at the latest message.

Petey Boy
So, you want to?

Confused, I unlocked my screen and scrolled through all the messages - apparently forty-eight exactly. As I read, my eyes widened and almost filled with tears. He cared this much to ask Tony freaking Stark - the billionaire and superhero - if I could live with them??

I struggled putting my response into words, knowing my bank account would thank me if I took him up on the offer, but I also didn't want to intrude and be a hassle. I mean...Stark Towers was where the Avengers lived, for crying out loud. I would just be out of place. Plus, they would eventually find things out about me that I do not want them knowing. I kept drafting and then deleting messages to respond, until finally I just settled on a simple answer.

Me
I'll think about it, thanks

Peter's POV

Well...at least she responded. Sure, maybe it hadn't been the enthusiastic yes I was hoping for, but at least it wasn't a no. I just really wanted to be able to help her, but she made it so difficult sometimes.

Me
Well, let me know when you decide :D

Minni Nikki

Sure 

In the meantime, we kept hanging out often. I didn't press the question, but I did bring it up every so often. After a few days of her putting off answering clearly, I decided that I needed a yes or no. Preferably a yes. School was going to be starting up soon, and I knew that the one we attended wasn't super cheap. Finally, I decided to confront her in person, so that she had no way of escaping without answering.

"Alright, Nikki. We need to talk." I turned to face her the next time she came over, while we were waiting for Mario Kart to load. She turned to look at me, the fact evident in her face that she knew exactly what I was going to talk to her about. Instead of allowing the conversation to continue, she turned her face back towards the screen and spoke almost coldly.

"No, Peter. We don't." She scrolled through the characters, settling on Dry Bones.

"Nikki, please," while she kept staring forward, I refused to choose a character, indicating that we wouldn't start playing until she gave in. To my delight, she turned back towards me, annoyance written all over he face.

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "You're really difficult and annoying, you know that?"

I offered her a toothy smile. "Yep! And proud of it. Now. About you living at the tower-"

"Look," she cut me off, "I'm glad that you care. Really, I am. But...I really can't. I mean, first of all, I wouldn't fit in. And, well...I would just feel like I'm...intruding."

I was immensely glad that she was offering some of her reasoning, as it only made it that much easier to be able to convince her. "I...I see. But y'know, Mr. Stark's already agreed that it's fine. And, you're here a bunch anyways, the Avengers like you and are pretty used to you by this point."

"I'll have to think about it."

"Nikki, please, we both know it would help you out tons."

She stood up without responding again, apparently fed up with me. "I'll see you later, Peter." With that, she walked over to the stairs and started going down, her hand resting on the railing. I sat there for a few seconds, not knowing how to respond before I started following her, continuing to try and convince her as she ignored me and walked away.

As I finished walking down the stairs and turned the corner, I found Nikki in an intense stare-off with Dr. Banner, Mr. Stark, Natasha, and Steve. They all stood in front of her in the kitchen, then moved to block her way as she tried to go to the elevator.

"What the heck! Let me leave! You can't force me to stay here!" She sounded incredibly pissed off as she almost yelled at them. I saw that her shoulders were tensed under her sweater; I had learned to recognize tiny bits of her body language in the last month or two, even though some of them were so small that the casual observer wouldn't be able to see.

Dr. Banner merely shook his head, then pointed to her foot. "Kid, you've had that brace on for the last month, at least. You need to let me check it out."

I was now standing in the same line as the other Avengers facing her, but did keep my distance so I wasn't standing right next to them, so hopefully Nikki would know that I wasn't against her. She huffed and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

"It's nothing. Now if you all don't mind, I'm going to be leaving now." She tried to push through the loose wall the four of them had formed. As she was just about to press the elevator button, Steve suddenly decided to speak, his voice soft and caring.

"Look...Nikki, right?" She turned around and warily nodded, as if surprised by the change of the tone of conversation. "It couldn't hurt to just get it looked at, right? We're actually concerned for you, kid."

Nikki rolled her eyes, then followed through with pressing the down button. "It's nice that you guys care, but really. It's nothing." The elevator arrived, and she stepped in, glaring at us as the doors closed.

Mr. Stark turned towards me, an eyebrow raised. "So, she's 'really struggling', is she? If she were, don't you think she would've agreed?"

I felt exasperated at this point. "She is! She just hates to admit it. I can tell that Nikki really needs my...our...help, even if she refuses to say so!"

"Uh-huh."

"Whatever. I'm going to go make sure that she makes it home alright."

Natasha looked at me curiously. "You sure seem...very concerned about her every move and action."

My eyes turned hot, embarrassed that she would imply something like that, even as subtly as she did. "We are only friends." I turned into the elevator, and pressed the button to go to the first floor.

I lightly jogged out of the building and wound my way down the familiar back-roads to Nikki's apartment, hoping I'd see her on my way, as I was going a good deal faster than I assumed she was.

After a few minutes, scanning the faces as I passed, I saw the back of her head and slowed to a walk next to her.

"Sorry about that. They can be a little...annoying sometimes."

Nikki looked up, slightly alarmed by my sudden appearance next to her. "I will never get used to you being so quiet."

I shrugged, trying my best at a casual laugh. There was no way I could let her figure out why. If she found out I was Spiderman...she would see me in a different light and shut down, thinking I had been lying to her. "Yeah...anyways. Sorry for them all pressuring you...I'd get why you'd be kind of pissed after being confronted by possibly the most famous superheroes in the country." Okay, it was more like in the world, but that didn't really need to be said.

She paused for a minute, then tilted her head slightly. "No, I get where they're coming from. I just...wasn't expecting it."

It felt like she was trying to string words together in a response, which was odd for her. Usually it just seemed like Nikki said whatever she wanted.

"Well...all you need to know is that I'm here for you. Obviously it'd be great if you came to live at Stark Tower, not only for me but for you as well, but I'll respect whatever you choose. I just really want to help you and be your friend."

She smiled thinly at me before unlocking her apartment door. "Thanks, Peter. I don't know what I think about it right now, but I will let you know when I do."

Before I could respond, she opened her door up slightly and slid inside, closing the door quickly behind her. The action left me a little confused, but I didn't pay too much heed. She was mysterious, so what? It's not like that's anything new.

When I was sure she couldn't see me anymore from any windows, I pressed my fingers against my palms, pulling my mask down over my face, swung across the city to sit on top of a building for patrol.

Word Count: 1696