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By his count they’d been together two and a half months, though he wasn't sure if his count was accurate. That first month they’d been sleeping together, but they hadn’t been in anything that he would consider a relationship. Friends with benefits except he wasn’t even clear if she saw him as a friend. It made sense then, when on those nights she’d be as quiet as she could grabbing her clothes and leaving his house. It was why he never said anything about it then. She had no reason to stay.
But that second month had been different, they’d been different. He was fairly sure that she liked him because he was easy, relaxed and uncomplicated. But he hadn’t cared, he’d asked Monica to be something more than they were, and she’d said yes. Peter was probably happier than he’d been for quite a while because of it. They spent time together, he listened to her, understood her pain or at least he tried to. They’d banter and flirt, they had their inside jokes. All of it was completely perfect.
She still always left after they slept together. Now he wondered if it was somehow his fault. He stared at the ceiling and thought about all of this. Monica was lying next to him right now, and he knew soon she wouldn’t be. It was worse now that they were dating. When she let before she’d make an effort to sneak out, like she felt bad for leaving. Now she’d roll over and give him a kiss and remind him of their upcoming plans before leaving. Reminding him that they were together but they wouldn't be when he so desperately wanted to be.
Maybe bringing it up was the right thing to do, to tell her how he felt about it. But on the other hand, who was he to question her about it. Monica did whatever she wanted, he knew that about her. Whether that meant going back into the Hex against everyone’s advice, or leaving his bed in the middle of the night. But God he wanted her to stay. Monica was beautiful, somehow impossible strong and yet so beautifully soft. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and sleep like that, intertwined.
He could hear it raining outside and Peter realized he couldn’t remember the last time it had rained. It certainly hadn't been while Wanda was in control, and even after that there had been days when it was gloomy, threatening to rain but it seemed the weather could never quite manage. He could hear the tell-tale rustle of sheets beside him as Monica got up from bed and started putting on clothes. He rolled over to see her, the moonlight streaming through the window and highlighting her body.
“Perfect…” he muttered to himself at the sight and seemingly noticing he was awake, Monica looked down at him and smiled. She had such a pretty smile.
“What?” she said and Peter shook his head.
“Nothing,” he responded as he looked out of the window. She was still getting dressed, still going to leave. He was uncomplicated, he shouldn’t make this complicated. Peter told himself he should just let her leave. Still, that rain kept on pouring down. He couldn’t help himself, and if he didn’t ask now he never would. “It's coming down pretty hard out there.” he said and a crash of thunder struck as if to punctuate his point. Monica jumped and looked out of the window as well.
“Yeah,” she said quietly. He mentally steeled himself for rejection and brought up the offer.
“You can stay the night here, if you want.” he said and the room fell silent for a long moment. He clarified suddenly hoping that maybe it would be better. “If you want I can sleep on the couch or something.” he said and Monica shook her head.
“No, we can share the bed. It’s fine.” she said though the reminder that it was fine seemed to be more for herself than him. It was a beautiful sight to watch her take off the clothes she had been about to leave in and climb back into the bed with him. A part of him wished he could stay in that moment forever and never leave, stay there watching her forever. As soon as she’d laid down Monica retreated to the farthest side of the bed and despite how badly he wanted to he didn’t close the distance, it was enough that she was there.
Knowing that Monica was there, with him, made sleep come easier than he’d ever found it before and Peter found himself drifting off easily. He woke up shortly after however. He wasn’t sure of the time and he didn’t care to check, it was still night. Monica was still there, in his bed. She was crying. Without even thinking he had his arms around her, holding her close.
“Hey, babe it’s okay I’m here.” he said quietly, soothingly. There was a brief break in the sobbing and a hiccup before Monica started talking.
“When the blip came I was asleep, I fell asleep and I woke up and it had been five years. I fell asleep and when I woke up my mom was-” she was cut off by the continuation of her own cry. Peter didn’t respond, pulling her closer to him, hoping that his presence, his warmth, would somehow soothe her. It evidently did as she took in a few deep breaths and started talking again, much less frantically. “Now you know my secret I guess, I’m a grown woman and I still have these stupid nightmares.” she said.
“It’s not stupid at all.” Peter asserted as he held onto her. “Something horrible happened to you, anyone would be freaked out no matter what.” he added. Monica seemed calmer now, her breathing steady and slow and he continued. “I don’t want you to feel like you can’t tell me this stuff, because I’m always going to be there for you. I’m never going to let anything happen to you.” Peter said as he peppered kisses on her shoulders and neck, “I love you.” he said unconsciously.
A part of his soul died in that moment. They’d only been dating about three months and he’d accidentally told Monica he loved her. He’d ruined this, he wanted to keep things easy and simple and he’d ruined them. He was sure that he was going to wake up in the morning and she’d be gone, and he knew that at least this time he would deserve it. He kept holding onto Monica and planting little kisses on her neck. If this was the end, at least he could enjoy this moment, having her pressed against him so tightly.
Peter woke up that morning to exactly what he’d expected, an empty bed. Sighing, he pulled himself out of bed and threw on a pair of pajama pants to eat the world’s saddest breakfast by himself. Of course, this thought was dashed when as he approached the kitchen the sound of humming was heard clearly and he was met with Monica making breakfast, wearing one of his shirts and nothing else. He wasn’t sure what made him more hungry, the stack of pancakes she was making, or Monica herself.
“I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed this.” she said, gesturing to the shirt and Peter shook his head.
“I don’t mind, you look great in it. Though, I’m more interested in what’s underneath.” he said approaching her and planting a kiss on her lips. Monica smiled teasingly and shook her head.
“Not until after breakfast.” she asserted and Peter smirked.
“What if I want you for breakfast?” he asked yet again planting kisses on her neck. This of course brought to life images of the previous night and he quickly stopped. “How did you sleep?” he asked slightly nervously and Monica gave a soft smile.
“Really good actually, after I have a nightmare it usually takes me hours to go back to sleep, if i can sleep at all. But I guess something about you being there helped because I was out like a light.” she said and Peter waved her off.
“It’s no big deal.” he responded before pausing for a moment. “So, you didn’t hear any of that really sappy stuff I said?” he asked and Monica shrugged.
“I heard a little about you understanding and being there for me, but I was pretty out of it.” she responded and mentally Peter let out a sigh of relief.
“So babe, my question still stands, can I have you for breakfast?” he asked, going back to planting kisses all over her. Despite being hit with a barrage of kisses Monica still managed to keep a straight face and fein thinking before giving an answer.
“I don’t think so, but I wouldn’t worry much,” she said gesturing to the window and pointing out that it was still raining. “I think we have all day.” she said and Peter could only smile. He would get around to telling her he loved her eventually, but for now he just wanted to enjoy this Sunday and every moment that would come with it.