Peter's POV

Me
Nikki?
You there?
Helloooooo?
Are you dying?
Is something wrong?
Why aren't you answeringggg
You were literally texting back two minutes ago
Where did you goooooo

I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Nikki and I had been having a conversation over text, and then she just - stopped responding.

She's probably just busy with something really quick...no big deal. Right?

I wanted to believe my own reassurances, but what if she wasn't? No, that's stupid, she knows how to take care of herself. She'll only get mad if you suggest anything else. She probably just stepped away from her phone for a minute. She'll be back soon...

She wasn't. Ten minutes passed, and she didn't respond, or even show that she had read my messages.

Me
That's it I'm coming over

I gave her another couple minutes, since she usually responded telling me not to whenever I suggested we hang at her place, but five minutes later she still hadn't even read it. So, I went to the top of the tower and swung around the city until I recognized the top of her apartment. Stepping quietly, I walked down the hallway to her door. I knocked softly, then picked the lock and twisted the handle.

I walked through her small apartment, scanning for anything that might seem amiss. There wasn't anything concerning in her kitchen, tiny living room, or bathroom, so the final room to check was her bedroom.

I tried the handle, but the door was locked. Why would she lock the doors inside her own house when she's the only one who lives here? Once again, I picked the lock and pushed the door open.

"Nikki?" I spoke quietly, stepping into her unnaturally dark room - the curtains were drawn, the lights were off; there was no source of light whatsoever. "You in here?" As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw a lump on her bed.

I poked it. "Nikki?"

She groaned.

"Oh, thank Thor you're alive."

Her face was partly smashed into her mattress, so her words were mumbled. "What does Thor have to do with anything?"

I laughed softly and shook my head. "Nothing. Just...glad I found you. What happened?"

She sat up, looking at me with a questioning expression. "What do you mean?"

"We were texting and then you just stopped responding."

Realization dawned on her. "Oh yeah...sorry about that. I remember now. I was just super tired...I must have drifted off while we were talking."

A feather of doubt swept around my mind, but I brushed it away. Nikki would never lie to me, right? "Oh, alright. You doing okay?"

Even in the dark, I could see her eyes roll. "Peter, thanks for checking on me and all that, but I'm fine. I've just been a little busy the last little bit, so I've been staying up later. It's all good."

"If you say so..." I stepped out of her room as she laid back down on her mattress, pulling a blanket over herself. As I swung back over to the tower, I considered the situation. Obviously, I was glad that she was okay, but she seemed...different the last few days. I had thought that I was getting somewhere with her; getting her to be able to trust me. And then suddenly, it had all evaporated.

~~timeskip brought to you by Thor's love of poptarts~~

Nikki's POV

"You're staying here."

"Excuse me?"

"You. Tower. Stay."

"I don't think so. Not right now, at least."

"Kid, I heard your stomach growling when you were training with Peter. It's obvious that you're hungry and you don't seem to have any intention of eating. You're staying here."

"But-"

"No buts. It's for you own good, trust me. Besides, I have a million other reasons why you need to."

I glared at Tony Stark, the man who supposedly was supposed to help bring freedom to people all around the world.

"I believe this violates the Fourteenth Amendment, doesn't it, Mr. America? Forcing me to live somewhere I don't want to?" I directed my question towards Captain America, who was reading a book on the couch.

"No comment," he replied without even glancing up.

Tony rubbed his hands down his face. "Do I really need to spell it out for you, kid?"

"Yes. You do. Explain to me exactly why you are not allowing me to go back to my own home, the place I pay for?"

He dismissed me with a wave of his hand. "Reasons. Now, your room is upstairs just next to Peter's, it has some things in it already."

"And if I refuse?"

"Not an option, kid. Peter's worried about you, so you're staying here until we make sure you're actually 'fine' like you claim to be."

I muttered some choice words under my breath, then turned to Peter, who hadn't said a word thus far. "I really don't have a choice in this, do I?"

He shrugged, looking a little ashamed. "Not really...not when Mr. Stark is set on it like this...sorry for how this all ended up."

I took a deep breath, hoping to calm myself so that I wouldn't end up yelling at an Avenger. "Fine. But...what about my apartment? It's not like I'm going to be paying rent for a place I'm not living at, but if I give it up it's unlikely I'll be able to find one again after all this."

Stark just shrugged with a smug look on his face, like he had been waiting for this to come up. "Don't worry kid, I'll pay the rent for your apartment while you stay here."

"What? No! I refuse."

"Too late."

I sputtered again in protest, utterly appalled that he would pay for an entire month's rent without at least mentioning it before he acted. Finding myself unable to manage any actual words, I turned back to Peter, choosing to ignore the infuriating billionaire right in front of me.

"So. This room he mentioned, it's not like a permanent thing, right? It's nothing more than a spare room?"

He grimaced slightly, then waved me to follow him. "Just look." He led me up a couple flights of stairs, then gestured at a door, labeled with my name on a plaque and everything.

"He did not."

"He did."

I pushed the door open, preparing myself for the worst. Inside, thankfully, was just a bed, a desk, a bookshelf, and a closet with a few clothes hung up inside.

Immediately I turned towards my friend.

"Let me pay for all this."

"No." Stark appeared in the doorway, looking proud that he had gotten to me a little.

"C'mon."

"Not an option."

"Please. At least let me pay you back for the shirts in the closet or something."

"Absolutely not."

"You will let me give you some form of compensation, especially since you already paid my rent for next month."

"How about you pay me back by...I don't know, doing something like...listening to me while you stay here."

I glared and crossed my arms, but nodded in agreement. I would listen to him, but made no promises to obey anything he told me to do. Which included paying him. Shrugging nonchalantly, he then left the room so that I could 'make myself at home'.

Word Count: 1152

Author's Note

I'M SORRY THIS CHAPTER IS SO SHORT AND CRAPPY AGHHHH

Also for the purpose of the story, we're just gonna pretend that Nikki still doesn't know about Peter being Spiderman but she does know that Peter lives at the tower for his internship (I can't remember if I mentioned that before) that he never really does anything for

Also sorry for any weird formatting things this chapter was being wonky