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Peter wouldn’t say he regretted offering Jean a place to stay, far from it.
He was helping someone in need, a young girl who had extraordinary abilities and would likely still be on some very powerful people’s most wanted list. Even though Damage Control had been taken care of, Peter wasn’t naive enough to think there weren’t other people and agencies out there who would want Jean locked up, experimented on, or simply killed.
He couldn’t let that happen.
He wouldn’t let that happen.
As long as he was around, Jean would be under his protection.
Again, he didn’t regret inviting Jean to stay with him.
…But he’d be lying if he said it didn’t come with some adjustments. After having spent so much time living on his own and isolating himself inside his apartment, suddenly having a roommate was something he had to acclimate to after so long of living on his own.
His usual routine had been shaken up, as had the nature of his usually spontaneous exits to fight crime and patrol the neighborhood.
But also his time spent outside of his Spider-Man suit had changed as well.
His apartment no longer felt so sterile and cold. Jean’s mere presents had brought an almost sunny warmth to their now shared abode that had been lacking beforehand.
It was clear that over time their relationship had progressed beyond merely being friends and roommates, but they had a very particular relationship dynamic that had taken root despite them not bringing it up at first, it was clearly prevalent in their interactions.
It also helped with their cover if anyone asked, which only added to the sincerity of it.
Peter never had any siblings growing up, his parents having died when he was very young and his Aunt and Uncle hadn’t been able to have children so he’d never had a sibling like relationship in his house growing up. Ned had been his best friend, and like a brother to him, but there was still a distance and separation there due to their own homelifes.
But it was different with Jean, she wasn’t just a friend or a roommate, they weren’t just living together, but Jean for all her abilities and power depended on him, and in some ways Peter found himself depending on her at times.
It had been years since he’d been able to feel that way about anyone, let alone someone who knew who he was under the mask.
All in all, he loved having Jean around.
….But again there were some adjustments he’d had to make.
Peter tapped his foot on the floor, his back leaning against the wall as he once again checked the time on his phone as he waited.
And waited.
And waited.
All the while the sound of water running was heard inside the bathroom.
Accompanied by singing.
Jean would sometimes sing in the shower.
The shower that she always took her time in, and Peter always found himself waiting on her.
Turning around again he tucked his towel under his arm and knocked lightly on the door.
“Uh, Jean any idea of when-”
“I’ll be out in a minute.” Her muffled voice came from behind the door, before she resumed singing, causing Peter’s hand to slowly slide back down to his side as he sighed and resumed his post leaning against the wall.
She'd said the same thing ten minutes ago.
He hoped she’d at least left enough shampoo and conditioner for him.
Despite the changes she’d brought to his life, Peter still didn’t regret Jean’s presence in his life, or his home.
Her weight had long since shifted to his side and he’d felt her slowly drift off to sleep as the sat on the less than perfect couch he’d picked up from a neighbor who’d been ready to get rid of it, despite their shared complaints on it, it made do for them both.
Reaching down slowly, Peter turned off the tv and glanced to his side where Jean was still asleep. It didn’t take long before he’d carried her to his former bedroom and laid her down to sleep, making sure to tuck her in despite her usual grumblings about it she’d give him while awake.
Seeing her at rest and so at peace, Peter hoped tonight would be a good night for both of them, with uninterrupted sleep at least on her part he hoped.
…Sometimes she had bad nights, as did he. The worse were when they both did, some of which led to them no longer being able to get back to sleep and instead spend the early hours watching tv or youtube, gaming or just talking, sometimes even when Peter was working on upgrades for his suit, they’d just talk until they felt better.
Reaching down, Peter tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, seeing Jean shift slightly in bed but thankfully she remained peacefully at rest.
As he walked back out into the apartment he was about to settle in for the night himself.
“You have a crime alert, Peter.” EVI’s voice rang out across the apartment, knowing the time of night it was as well as the alert parameters he had set up, Peter knew this was something he had to address as he rushed over to his monitors.
“What have we got?” he said as the intel and location popped up.”Urgh, great.”
Peter didn’t waste time quickly shedding his pyjamas and getting into his suit, he had to admit the organic webbing did save some time even slightly in that he didn’t have to worry about his web shooters.
He was still working on some possible mounts for his spinnerets in the style of his web shooters that wouldn’t encumber his webs, but would enable him to customize and change the output and effect.
Impact Webbing was something he wanted to experiment with, especially since he’d enjoyed the use of that function before.
And taser webs was something he wanted to see if he could implement from his old Stark Industries suit.
But those thoughts were for later.
Right now, he had a job to do.
Leaning against the window, he glanced once more back in Jean’s direction before speaking.
“Evi, let me know if Jean wakes up or has any nightmares. And alert me if anything happens or we have a security breach.”
“Of course, Peter. Baby Monitor protocol activated.”
Peter couldn’t suppress the grin on his face as he pulled his mask on and leapt out into the night.
Mr. Stark wouldn’t have let him live that down.
But he could at least rest assured that Jean would be safe.
He’d promised her that much.