Secrets Kept — Ethan Landry
in which you have a secret, and it’s not what ethan thinks.
Pairing: Ethan Landry x Spider-Woman!Reader (she/her pronouns used)
Warnings: minor gunshot wound, kind of escalates quickly?, mention of reader having no family (other than aunt may), slight angst, fluff, no ghostface (previous movies can still be canon i think), somewhat dialogue-heavy, mentions of Across the Spider-Verse events
Word Count: ~9k
Author’s Note: hey everyone, i do wanna apologize for promising to come back and then just. not. so im sorry for that! i have had some health/life troubles recently and long story short i won’t be releasing anymore fics after this. (i am not dying, dont worry, my energy just isnt the same). i also realized i just do not feel as passionate about writing as i used to. thank you for sticking with me, and i will keep all my fics up. for unfinished series i’ve written, anyone is free to write continuations if you wish. thank u so much again for making me feel so welcome here!!! feel free to talk to me in my inbox as i’ll be checking in periodically. and if there’s any interest, i’m willing to post unedited wips.
i guess i've come full circle because this fic was the reason i created this blog. it was unfinished so i never did post it, but i finally got some energy to do it! so enjoy (hopefully)
-
New York had been your home for a long time. All your life, actually. But sometimes, the rowdy, noisy city was suffocating.
However, swinging through the city, air resisting against your skin as you picked up speed—lifted the weight off your shoulders.
You changed in a secluded alley on the outskirts of the busyness in the big apple, not risking any neighbours seeing you go into the window of your apartment. The subway was crowded as it is all hours of the day, though you didn’t mind too much.
Closing the door behind you, you dropped your bag on the couch and looked for your roommate. “Quinn?” Your voice travelled throughout the place, bringing your roommate to her feet and outside her room.
“Hey, d’you just get back?” She smiled, leaning against the end of the hallway. “How was patrol?”
You sighed, opening the zipper of your backpack to pull out the bagel you got for her. “Yeah, it was alright. Nothing exciting.” you threw it to her, and she almost dropped it. “Got you a bagel. Thanks for covering for me.”
She scoffed in mock offence, “What did I say about throwing things? I don’t have your spider sensor, or whatever. But this is appreciated.” She took a bite, and you laughed at her remark about the spider-sense.
“Noted, sorry again.” You returned her grin. You knew she loved being in on the secret. She took joy in knowing the real identity of the masked vigilante, often covering for you around your friends when you had to leave very suddenly during movie nights and hangouts. But above all, she was a concerned friend. Always. Patched you up when you came home late at night, warned you when you were about to make a bad decision, told you to be careful before you left.
You often told yourself not to get too close. Making connections as a vigilante wasn’t ideal. Anybody who knew your identity was in danger at all times, and it didn’t help that you had a huge crush on her brother. You never uttered a word to her, but you could sense her observing you when you hung out with the friend group—not in a spidey-sense way, though, you could just feel it, even without the supernatural sense.
“Anything interesting happen while I was gone?” You asked, flopping down on the couch and turning on the tv, avoiding the news channels.
“Ethan missed you. It was kinda gross, actually. Wouldn’t stop asking where you were.” She grabbed a drink from the kitchen, disappearing from view.
You furrowed your brows, “You know I never believe you whenever you say anything about Ethan, right? Especially concerning me.”
“Not my problem, spidey. I never lie.”
“I could give you ten examples,” you chuckled.
“I never lie to you. Obviously I lie to everybody else.” She came back from the kitchen with a look.
“Is it because I’m special?”
“Obviously.”
You weren’t the nervous type. Maybe it was after you were bitten by the spider, you never really knew, but one of the main reasons Ethan may not have realized you have any semblance of feelings for him was because you acted normal around him like you did everybody else. Your schedules were different, so you rarely hung out with him for school reasons, meaning the only times he spent time with you was during group hangouts.
Including now. At his and Chad’s tiny off campus apartment.
He watched you play chess with Anika, Chad watching from the sidelines during a blitz game. Speed chess. He knew how to play chess. Maybe he should play with you, a thought grazed his mind.
As if his sister could read him, she appeared beside him and nudged him closer to the scene. “You should play.”
He looked at her with shock, “No, I’ll lose. I don’t wanna embarrass myself.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Since when has that stopped you? You never back down from a chess match, remember?” He did remember, years ago when his father taught him after Richie left for college. “It’s because you like her, isn’t it?”
He huffed. To try and prove her wrong, he went over to the coffee table and watched as you lost to Anika—maybe he has a chance.
It was his turn, now. He replaced Anika on the seat facing you, rearranging the chess pieces. “Pretty boy wants to play!” Chad exclaimed.
“Chad.” Ethan said in an almost warning tone. “What did I say about the nickname?”
You reset the chess clock. He looked at you—you were smirking—which was a mistake, because he didn’t realize you started his clock.
“Shit,” he moved a piece, fumbling. You grinned at him, and he realized he’ll do anything to see it again.
You didn’t lose your confidence, moving chess pieces to counteract his own moves.
During the middle game was when it dawned on him he was fucked.
It became clear to him you likely knew how to psych him out—just by smiling at him.
Little did he know, you smiled at him because his thinking face was adorable. But on his side, you were smiling every time he glanced at you. He had no other choice but to believe you were doing it to make him blunder, because he couldn’t make you usually smile like that, could he?
Quinn watched her brother fumble around you. Her plan worked. At least for tonight.
You ended up winning the game with ten seconds left on your clock and three on his.
You high-fived Chad, much to Ethan’s dismay, but you offered a handshake to his direction which he gladly accepted to feel your warm palm in his. Worth it.
He was mustering up to ask for a rematch when your phone buzzed on the counter, which Quinn reached to get before anyone could in case it was something spider related. And thank god she did, because it was. She gave you a nod, reading the notification about something happening downtown. You cringed internally, knowing the burden of covering for you would fall on your friend’s shoulders again. She packed your things and handed you the backpack, whispering ‘be safe’ as you take it from her, so nobody else would hear.
With a closing of the door behind you, a conversation in the room began, thanks to a suspecting Mindy.
“Why does she leave sometimes?” The woman looked to the strawberry blonde for an answer, suspecting that she knew more than she let on. “She never tells us.” They all settled on the couch as Chad flicked through streaming services for a movie and Ethan cleaned up the chessboard. He didn’t wanna seem to interested, but he was definitely actively listening for Quinn’s answer.
“Her aunt calls her sometimes to run some errands,” Quinn prayed they wouldn’t pry. She saw this coming because you’d been dealing with more calls recently and patrolling more often. There really was no other excuse for the spontaneous leaving. It was easier to cover if you were already not there—you’d be studying, grocery shopping, napping, or literally anything else.
“Aunt May?” Ethan piped up. You mentioned her once, saying you needed to get eggs for her.
“Yeah, Aunt May.”
“She never talks about her family.” Said Anika.
Quinn didn’t want to say anything else. “She’s just private, I think.”
“You know more about her than us, though.”
“Because I’m her roommate.”
Mindy’s eyes squint toward her. Tilting her head, she pursed her lips. “I think you’re lying.”
“Why would I be?”
“She’s left before, at like, one AM. Why would her aunt call her at that time?”
Quinn shrugged, feeling a little bit of panic setting in. “Who knows?”
“Is she hiding something?”
“No.” The word was so quick and curt, and that was when she knew she fucked up.
“You’re definitely lying.”
Everyone else, watching the interaction turning from teasing to tense, Sam stepped in. “Guys,” she interrupted. “If Y/N wants to tell us something, she would. I’m sure she has her reasons.”
Mindy had been suspicious for a long time. Not out of malice, she liked to think she had a naturally curious personality. She’d kept an eye on you every time you left, half because she wanted to know, but also because she was worried. Had you not been friends for long enough that you couldn’t tell them why you left or was sometimes missing?
Ethan thought similar.
It got weirder when he saw a glimpse of your name on Quinn’s phone, a call from you that she answered. She went to the kitchen to answer it. Mindy saw it too.
Ethan wasn’t proud of it, but he followed, to stay right behind the threshold of the kitchen and the cold tiled floor, listening to the conversation.
The audio from your end was inaudible, but Quinn’s responses were: “Yeah?” … “How bad is it?” … “No, I’ll be there.” … “Who cares if they get suspicious? You’re more important.”
He heard the call end and rushed back to his seat, to Quinn’s obliviousness. She grabbed her things.
“I’m tired, guys.” She announced to the group, Tara pausing the movie. “I’m gonna go home.”
“Oh,” Sam replied. “Well, be careful. Do you have your pepper spray?”
“Yes, Sam.” Quinn almost rolled her eyes at Sam’s protectiveness, but she knew it was out of real worry.
After his sister left, Ethan began the conversation this time. “I think Mindy’s right.”
Everyone turned to him.
“Quinn was talking to Y/N.”
Tara sat up. “You followed her to eavesdrop?”
Ethan shrugged, feeling scolded.
“Not cool, dude.”
“What did she say?” Sam asked curiously, now hooked. If Ethan mentioned it, it must have been important.
“Like…” A pause, “Q asked ‘how bad is it?’ then said she’ll be there. And then, like, who cares if they get suspicious.”
“They’re definitely hiding something,” Mindy stated. “But why?”
“My sister never hides anything from me. She always overshares, and I always hated it. But now she’s not. It’s probably not…good.”
“Are we sure we should talk about this?” Anika piped up next to Mindy. “Maybe it’s a problem with their apartment—a leak, or something.”
“But…” Chad spoke, “what about the suspicious part? And why would Quinn lie?”
At the same time, at your and Quinn’s apartment, you bled out on a towel placed on the couch from a gash across your stomach. You winced as your friend applied the bandage.
“Didn’t I tell you to be safe? What happened? You had a good streak going there for a while.”
“Quinn, please.”
“Also, not to alarm you, but they’re getting really suspicious. Mindy asked why you leave all the time.”
“Shit, she’s never asked that.” Your head fell against the end of the couch in defeat. “Maybe I should start distancing myself.”
Quinn’s head snapped up. “You’re not serious.”
“Dead serious.”
“Don’t make me say it.”
“Say what?” You looked at her.
“It’s a really bad idea.”
“I’m trying to keep people safe. Keep you safe. Keep everyone else in the group safe.”
“What about Ethan?”
“Including him.”
“No—“ She scoffs, “I mean, you’d…break his heart.”
You had to stop yourself from laughing. “Quinn,”
“I’m serious.” And she actually was. She might have thought her brother was a nerdy asshole. But he was her brother. “And everyone would wonder where you are. You can’t avoid them forever.”
Sitting atop a random apartment building Monday morning, your sight helped you catch a glimpse of Ethan walking amongst a crowd of New Yorkers, bumping into people with a hand on the backpack strap on his shoulder. It had been a week since you talked to Quinn about possibly leaving the group.
After that, you stopped answering messages from them, much to her dismay. She still saw you at the apartment, looking at you with silent eyes hoping you’d realize your mistake and come around again. She knew you would.
Having everybody’s schedules memorized helped you avoid them—but Anika having the same major as you was your downfall. You skipped a class yesterday, and she texted the groupchat asking where you were.
Maybe it was creepy, but keeping an eye on your friends calmed you down. You wanted to be the one to make sure they were safe without having them try to do the same thing—this was why you never wanted to get close.
Unbeknownst to you, the group had a bet going.
Mindy thought you and Quinn were dating. Ethan thought something was up in your family life, maybe Aunt May was sick. Chad thought you were in a secret fight club (secretly worried). Anika was on board with Mindy’s theory. Sam refused to answer, and Tara was also silent.
Quinn came to your room that night. “Everybody’s worried about you.”
You looked at her with begging eyes. “I know, Quinn.” You sighed in defeat. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“Either you tell them or not. Your choice. But you can’t avoid it forever. Everyone’s been giving you space, but they’re still thinking you’ll come around.”
You stared at her, them looked away, at anything else.
“One more thing—“ she said before she left, “don’t patrol tonight.”
“Why not?”
“I’m gonna be over at Isaac’s place. If you get hurt, I won’t be there. He thinks I’m cheating on him whenever I bail.”
You would never ask her to give up a part of her life for you, she knew you would agree. But she also knew you would never miss patrol.
“Fine, I won’t.”
She left knowing you would.
You should have listened. God, you should have listened.
Your wound from a few days ago had already healed thanks to your abilities, but another power you had was how many times you got injured in a short amount of time. Especially in the same spot. This time it was a real stab wound on your side, not just a gash a centimetre deep.
You couldn’t let yourself bleed out on the alley to be found dead and your friends to find out your identity through a news announcement that Spider-Woman was dead. You were about to swing back to your apartment—
Shit.
You didn’t have your civilian clothes. The window on the fire escape was locked. Your door was locked. Nobody was home. Idiot!
One choice. You forced your feelings down, hoping this was for the best.
Ethan and Chad’s were the closest.
With your heart pounding in your ears, holding it together and covering your wound, you knocked on the glass.
Chad came out of the hallway to furious sounding knocking on the window, thinking maybe a madman managed to climb up the fire escape and was trying to break in.
He certainly wasn’t expecting the masked vigilante of New York City to be the one on the other side of the glass. And she looked to be bleeding.
You were thankful it was Chad who answered and not Ethan. He coincidentally had Econ tonight, so that was actually a plus.
Chad opened the window. “Holy shit!”
“Look—“ You were breathing rapidly, unable to keep it together. “I’m sorry about this—“ You tried to change your voice hoping your friend wouldn’t recognize it.
“I’m gonna carry you now, okay?” He put an arm behind your back and another under your knees, trying to avoid touching the wound. “What the fuck?” You heard him whisper as he set you down on the couch.
He rushed to the bathroom for the med kit. “You’re lucky I have this,” He set it down on the floor, rummaging through it. “I play college football, I mainly have it for sprains. I never used the suture kit, but hey, first time for everything, right?” He rambled. Just as Chad does when he was nervous, also evident in the tremble of his voice.
“I heal pretty quickly, I just need stitches to stop it from bleeding.”
“Thank God. I don’t know how to operate on organs. What if you have internal bleeding?”
“Won’t matter. I’ll heal. I’d never let you touch my organs.” You joked.
“Glad to know Spider-Woman’s funny.”
You were careful not to call him by name on instinct. “What should I call you?”
“Your saviour.” He got the tools ready, “Kidding. I’m Chad.”
“‘Kay, Chad. Need me to walk you through it?”
“Yes—yes, that would be good, actually. You have medical experience?”
“If you call getting injured experience, yes.”
“This is gonna be a long night.”
Tara did not believe her boyfriend.
She was at his apartment, sitting on his bed, and he was pacing and rambling about Spider-Woman coming to this very place last night and asked the vigilante to save her. She stared at him crazy.
“Babe, you have to believe me!” He jumped up excitedly, he couldn’t keep it in.
“You didn’t get any proof?”
“She was bleeding! I stitched her up! Not really a great time to ask for an autograph or a picture.”
She smiled at him endearingly. “I wanna believe you, so, so bad.”
He came closer to her, “Please do.”
“She just happened to come here when Ethan was away?”
“Yes.”
She laughed, falling back on the bed.
“Please, babe!”
With good timing, a knock on the door took them away from the moment.
Tara went to get it, Chad on her tail.
And surprise.
It was Spider-Woman at the door.
You never intended on showing up, but the guilt consumed you and your feet brought you to a bakery and you’d purchased a dozen cupcakes before you knew it. You wanted to leave them at his door, but not trusting his neighbours, you decided to hand them over.
He wasn’t alone. You should have expected Tara. It was afternoon, and Ethan had a class early morning (why he picked it that early, you’ll never get.)
Tara’s eyes widened at the sight, immediately turning back to her boyfriend stopping him in his tracks. “Is this a prank?” She pointed a finger up at him.
Him not knowing who’s at the door, “What? Who’s at the door?” He walked past her and was equally shocked.
You lowered your voice again. “Uh,” you cleared your throat, “thanks for saving me last night.” You handed over the box of cupcakes.
“Are you joking?” Tara went to lift your mask, but you backed away. “Who are you?”
“Not a prank, promise!” You exclaimed. “This is…actually…me. Just wanted to say thanks. If not for him, I would have bled out.”
“Prove it.”
“Prove what?”
“You’re her.”
At that, you shot a web to the ceiling.
“Shit,”
“I wasn’t lying, babe.” You heard Chad whisper to her. And directed at you, “Glad I could help, spider. Come back anytime!” Tara playfully slapped him on the shoulder as you walked away.
“I’ll keep that in mind!”
You still hadn’t told Quinn about what happened last night. That was because you hadn’t seen her anywhere. She must have slept in at her boyfriend(?)’s place.
As you got home, your phone buzzed.
Bruno Mars Security Team
Chad
everyone !!!!!!!! please come over tonight !!!!!!! i have to tell you all something !!!!!!! im spiderwomans best friend now
Tara
well…
Sam
???
Quinn
Oh god
Ethan
What lol
Then, a personal message notification from Quinn.
Quinn
Wtf happened while I was gone you have to tell me
You
I HAD NO CHOICE
Quinn
Please actually come over to Chad’s. We all miss you even tho its only a few days like we’re all worried
You
i will
Chad had never been happier to see you. “You’re here! And you’re early!” He opened his arms for a hug, which you took. “I missed you!” You’d always been a little sister to him, despite being a few months apart, it mattered to him.
“Sorry I’ve been MIA,” You sighed, pulling away. “Just—dealing with stuff,” you cleared your throat.
Just then, Tara appeared and ran into your arms. You squeezed her tight, knowing she gave the best kinds of hugs. Her arms wrapped around your neck, head resting against your shoulder, fitting like a puzzle piece. “Talk to us anytime, okay?”
You nodded, ending the hug and closing the door behind you.
“What’s this about Spider-Woman?” You inquired, grabbing a drink from the fridge.
“I have to wait until everyone gets here, you guys are gonna freak! And Tara is here to back me up.”
“Is that all I’m here for?” Tara teased.
“No, honey, you know it’s also because we’re using your Netflix login.”
You laughed at their antics as she flicked him on the forehead lightly.
Ethan happened to catch you right at that moment as he came out of the bathroom.
He was silent, but shot you a smile nonetheless, which you mirrored. He really did not know what to say. A feeling bubbled up inside him and he knew he wanted to talk to you alone.
You took your place at the very end of the couch, checking something on your phone as you waited for the others to get here. Unbeknownst to you, though, Ethan was looking at you trying to decide whether it was the right time to talk. Chad and Tara were whispering to themselves, betting on if he would actually say anything.
After a few seconds, your senses told you somebody was staring. Not in a dangerous way, or even remotely alarming, but you could still feel it. So you turned your head upward and saw the curly haired boy a standing awkwardly a few feet from you.
“What’re you doing?” You smirked, though not really in a smug way. It was more amusement than anything.
“Uh—nothing, I just—“ He wandered closer, sitting a few centimetres away from you. “I—we, the group, want you to know that we’re always here if you need anything. You can talk to us, alright? You don’t—just don’t deal with it alone.” He shrugged, “That’s it.”
Your face softened at his confession. Only if you could tell them without compromising their safety. “Thanks. I’ll…keep you posted.”
Ethan didn’t know what to do now that the conversation was seemingly over.
He was about to stand up until the door swung open, Quinn coming in along with Mindy and Anika who were carrying a few boxes of pizza.
“We’re here! And we brought food!” Mindy’s voice echoed throughout the apartment.
You were going to greet them but Anika beat you to it, seeing you on the couch and running over to hug you.
Mindy did the same, relieved to see you okay.
Quinn had a knowing smile on her face.
After the room settled down, Chad began to finally tell the story.
Needless to say, nobody believed him.
By the end of the night, long past midnight, you were getting ready to leave when Ethan asked you something.
“Are you going with Quinn?”
Mindy and Anika were waiting at the door, they both got a ride from your roommate since Mindy’s car broke down a few days ago.
“No, uhm—I think I’m gonna walk home. It’s only a few blocks.”
Quinn, upon hearing you, chimed in. “Really? You sure you don’t want to?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” You shared a look with her that only the two of you knew. You turned to Ethan, “Why?”
“Can I walk you?”
You were surprised, to say the least. “Really?”
“So you’re safe.”
Preparing to protest, you felt Quinn’s hand on your arm. “Let him.”
So you did.
The walk home was brisk. The streets were empty, the street lamps illuminating your synchronized steps with Ethan.
With him, silence was never awkward. It was just…quiet.
It was no secret that you were perceptive, especially to your friends. Quinn knew why, but the others thought it was just you, not something caused by the spider bite. Your senses were especially heightened around Ethan.
You would never mention it, but you knew his heartbeat sped up when he got close to you. You only caught it a few times on accident trying to listen for something else, but you’d never actually do it on purpose.
Lately it seemed he was spending more time with you since the night you came back (which was three weeks ago at this point). One, he would message you on Discord asking if you wanted to do a study call—you never failed to say yes (making Ethan giddy). Two, he began to ask you things about your life during those calls when you would both take a break from studying. Like he wanted to know more about you.
Three, you began to spend time together outside the group.
Quinn was excited for you the first time you told her that you were going to see Ethan and only him. Of course, you told her not to read into it, but when has she ever listened?
Things were going fairly well. Especially with New York as a whole, nothing too major had happened (no supervillains, thank god), only a few robberies and cats stuck in a tree.
You were sitting atop a building when a tingling sensation in the back of your neck alerted you to something. Then, as you honed your hearing, you heard glass breaking a block away.
Swinging never got old.
As you reached your destination, a small bodega being robbed, you spotted him. Ethan.
Your heart began to pound in your ears, watching from the outside as the robber trained the gun on his hostages inside the bodega, one of them being Ethan.
It was like muscle memory. Go in, threaten the robber, and if it escalated, you fought him.
“I’m going to get rid of you, Spider-Woman!” The man in the mask hissed at you, his pistol trained right at your heart. This part didn’t scare you anymore, but Ethan being here—did. “If you come any closer…” He stepped away, instead pointing the gun at some old lady, who looked scared shitless. “I’ll shoot her!” He noticed you weren’t fazed at threats against you, so he targeted the next best thing: civilians.
“Easy, there, cowboy. Why don’t you point that gun at me? I thought you wanted to get rid of me.” You tilted your head, gauging the severity of the situation.
In your peripheral vision, Ethan stepped in front of the lady, trying to usher her to the side.
God, he was an idiot—but you’d be lying if you said that didn’t warm your heart.
The robber didn’t notice because he was still staring at you, watching for any sudden movements you’d make.
It happened in three seconds.
One, you shot the web to the gun, trying to pull it back to you.
Two, the gun went off—a slip of his finger caused by your web. Before you saw who it hit, the man came at you.
Three, you took him down, knocking him out.
It was the next second that you decided your life wouldn’t be the same.
You heard a hiss, a gasp from onlookers, and you took away the magazine of the gun before your head snapped up to where the hiss came from.
Ethan.
Red was the first thing you saw. It was on that yellow cardigan he wore when it was chilly—You rushed to his side, seeing the red come from his arm. He was backed up, leaning against the wall.
He was wide-eyed, face scrunched up in pain. “Shit,” He put pressure on his wound. “It hurt less than I thought it would.”
If only he could see how the tears lined your eyes under the mask.
“We need—“ You tried to keep your voice steady— “We need to get you to a hospital.”
“I’m fine,” He hissed again as you pressed harder on his arm. “It’s just a graze.” He saw your concern.
“No—It could’ve—it could’ve hit something vital—“ Despite your knowledge that it likely didn’t, your head was spinning and rational thought weren’t exactly on the table.
The sirens reached your ears before anyone else’s.
You took a deep breath. Your head cleared.
“The ambulance is gonna get here soon, uh—“ You cleared your throat. “Don’t move, okay?” You nodded to him, and left.
Okay, you didn’t actually leave. You stayed on a rooftop across the street, a few buildings over, seeing that he was okay as he got checked out by the paramedics.
That was when you actually left. For good this time.
The timing was almost perfect—the next day, an old friend came to see you.
You weren’t expecting anybody, hanging out in an abandoned building you found in the outskirts of Brooklyn when you were a teenager.
But a black hole opened up right next to you. Maybe not a black hole, but the closest thing to it.
That was when you saw Miguel O’Hara.
Quinn had no idea that, when she woke up that morning, it would be the week she spilled your secret to the friend group.
This is how it went down.
Last evening, she told you to be careful before you left for patrol. You never came back in the morning. She didn’t see any evidence of you being there, like your shoes haphazardly thrown across the floor near the front door, or your backpack on the couch. This had happened once before and she found out you were at your Aunt May’s house—so she just sent you a text and went on with her day.
It was also the day Ethan called her and told her that he was shot. Then he texted the groupchat about what happened and they all (including Quinn) rushed over to his and Chad’s apartment to see in person that he was actually okay. A bit of a freaky situation that Ethan was caught up in that, but everyone calmed down eventually. But when Ethan told the story, Quinn hoped your disappearance had nothing to do with his getting hurt. She also noticed that he was bummed about you not being there.
It was the second day she got worried. No sign of you. Nothing on the news about Spider-Woman, either.
Bruno Mars Security Team GC
Quinn
Anybody heard from Y/N?
Chad
aren’t you her roommate
Quinn
Hasn’t been home since Saturday.
Ethan
She hasnt answered any of my texts
Chad
okay now i’m worried
tara? mindy? anika? sam?
Mindy
nope. anika says no too
Sam
Not me or Tara. I’ll try calling her
She didn’t answer
Ethan
Quinn do u know where she’d go? maybe to a family member?
Quinn
I dont know her aunt mays address
Chad
let’s wait a day to see if she turns up. if not then we’ll get together to brainstorm
You weren’t there the next day, so everyone gathered at yours and Quinn’s apartment to see what could’ve happened to you.
They all stood around the kitchen island.
“Has everybody called her?” Chad said, arms crossed. “Texting her and everything?”
Everyone nodded.
“Quinn,” Tara began. “Have you checked her room?”
She looked down, almost ashamed. “I did, actually. Nothing.”
“Do you think we should…check again? Maybe we’ll find something.”
“I’m good at snooping, if you need.” Anika added.
Quinn’s eyes slightly widened, “No!” Calming down, “I mean—no. She doesn’t like other people going through her stuff. I can because I’m her roommate—not you guys.” At times of stress, this was the best she could come up with.
“Okay…” Mindy’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “How about an address to Aunt May’s place? Do you think we could find that somewhere?”
The realization dawned upon her—no way of getting to you. “No. But she would’ve told me if she was going there.”
“Look, Quinn.” Mindy sighed, “Can you just—be honest with us?”
The ginger nodded.
“What was the last thing she said to you?”
“I—she was going out to buy something.”
Ethan’s nostrils flared—he knew when his sister was lying. Why was she so adamant to hide your whereabouts, even if it meant you were in danger? He sighed.
“I’ve—“ Everyone’s heads snapped to Ethan at his interruption. “I’ve had enough of it, Quinn. What the fuck are you two hiding? Seriously.”
Safe to say there was nobody in that kitchen who wasn’t surprised at his sudden outburst. He didn’t care, though.
“You always fucking lie, Quinn. I can tell. Why don’t you think I can tell? She goes missing, and you’re still keeping a secret!”
Chad put a hand on his shoulder, “Dude.”
The boy took a deep breath, reminding himself where he was. “Sorry. For shouting, I mean. But you can’t just—ask us to look for her when we all know damn well that you know something we don’t.”
At that moment, she had two choices. She thought for a long moment before she couldn’t find a rational explanation as to why she shouldn’t tell them that you’re Spider-Woman—you could be dead by now.
She walked away, hearing Mindy say “Are you fucking serious?” right behind her.
They didn’t have to wait for long, because Quinn came back from your room with something in her hand. They examined the object as she threw it onto the counter.
It was a mask—Spider-Woman’s mask.
“Holy shit,” Sam was the first to say.
“Wanna know the secret?” Quinn crossed her arms. “There’s your fucking secret.” She directed it at Ethan, whose mouth was slightly open.
She took a deep breath, a similar trait to her brothers to calm herself down. “The night she left, she told me she was going on patrol. When she didn’t come back the next morning I thought she was fine. Now it’s the third day, nothing from her. Look—I might’ve—like, fucked up. I don’t know.”
“How?” Asked Mindy.
“I should’ve told you sooner.”
It was clear to them that Quinn must have had this weight on her shoulders for so long.
“I have…so many questions.” Said Chad. “So when…Spider-Woman came to my apartment, that was Y/N?” He grabbed the mask, analyzing it with his hands.
“Why do you think she came to yours? She knows you have that stupid med bag with the unused suture kit.”
“Is that why she always left?”
“Mhm.” She nodded. “I thought—things were getting better. She was getting close to us again, stopped patrolling some nights because of my brother’s stupid discord calls.”
Ethan was breathless. “What?”
“Look—point is: she didn’t want to put anybody in danger. If I didn’t find out by accident, she never would have told me. She just…cares about you guys too much. She thinks if you know she’s Spider-Woman, you’d be in danger.”
When Ethan came face to face with Spider-Woman in the bodega, it was you. That was your concern, practically radiating off of you in waves. He knew you seemed familiar, somehow. But everybody knew Spider-Woman. He knew you differently. You saved his life.
Everybody was taken aback by the news. But Sam, ever the leader, began. “She’s been protecting us this whole time. All of us. It’s time we have to do the same for her.”
“How?”
“We find her. In any way possible, even if it means we have to track down her entire family, go back to her high school friends, anything we can think of, okay?”
There was no doubt in anyone else’s mind that they were all on board with the plan.
“Let’s do it.”
ONE WEEK LATER
It was the first night in a week that Ethan got proper sleep. The exhaustion finally caught up to his body after countless sleepless nights spent poring over clues on how to find you. He’d been making progress on the Oscorp lead when the last thing he remembered was slumping over at his desk.
Which was why it was weird when he opened his eyes, he saw the ceiling. He was laying down in the comfort of his own bed. Maybe he actually went to bed and didn’t realize it. The sunlight peeking through the curtains was probably a sign to get up, get back on the investigation.
That was until he sat up and saw a figure at his desk, standing over some of the files he sorted.
It took him a second to see it was you. Was he dreaming?
“You’re finally up.” He heard the voice come from you, and saw your mouth move, and as he processed your sweet voice and the teasing lilt to it, he almost fell off his bed jumping out to rush over to you.
He almost knocked you over as his (surprisingly) muscular arms wrapped around you in a quick second, you returning the hug with a smile he could feel on his neck. He was almost speechless. Almost.
Slightly pulling away, he got a good look at you, unharmed, grinning at him with the power of a million suns. He kept his arms around your waist, keeping you close as if he was afraid you’d disappear once more. Nonetheless, he mirrored your expression as he felt your breath on his face and your arms looping around his neck, running your hands through his soft curls.
“You’re…here. You’re actually here.”
Your soft hand came to rest against his chest, feeling his heartbeat along with hearing it.
“I’m sorry I left.”
The boy shook his head, “What matters is you came back. You always did.”
“I always will, Ethan.”
YESTERDAY
It was early morning and the feeling of defeat was strong in the room. Everyone was there at your and Quinn’s apartment all with one goal: to find you. They’d started this search almost a week ago with a determination in their eyes akin to a fight for survival, mainly because it kind of was. But as the days went on and the meetings at the house got longer to discuss other possibilities surrounding the circumstances of your disappearance, the metre to measure the disappointment was getting higher.
They all sat at the couch, flipping through the news channels, all talking about how Spider-Woman hasn’t been seen in over a week. It was an alarming wake up call for the city, because crime rates had gone up significantly without the friendly neighbourhood spider watching over the residents of the city that never sleeps.
The news anchors all echoed a similar message. Where is Spider-Woman? Many have theorized that this may be the end of an era—
Sam clicked the red button on the remote, the screen turning to black. “We can’t give up.”
“I didn’t wanna have to, but—“ Tara sighed, “We said if we can’t come up with anything, we’d get the police involved.”
Chad slumped right next to her. “What are we supposed to tell them? Hey, our friend’s been missing for a week and we’re just now reporting it. And FYI, she’s the vigilante who does your job for you.”
“Not like that.”
“But we can’t tell them she’s her, right? If they find her, she’d be arrested.”
“If they find her alive, that is.” Mindy added grimly, looking at the ground.
“Dude, come on.” Her brother tapped her arm.
“I’m just saying.”
“Quinn, Ethan.” Tara refocused the conversation, “Your guys’ dad is a cop, right?”
They looked at each other before nodding.
“Can you talk to him? You don’t have to tell him anything just—find out if anything happened lately, okay? Anything new.”
Anika added, “We’re not even on the week mark. It’s tomorrow. How about we focus on our leads today, then meet again tomorrow. If there’s really nothing, we’ll go to the police, okay?”
“That sounds good.” Ethan agreed.
“Alright,” Sam exhaled. “Dismissed.”
Everyone was sleepless that night. There was the obvious tell of the bags under everyone’s eyes growing bigger, not to mention the slouching and the less than ideal attention span they had lately.
Quinn’s eyes were wide open in the dark of room, wondering and hoping you weren’t dead in some back alley somewhere.
A sound in the living room broke her out of a dazed stupor. It wasn’t too loud, but not subtle, either.
On edge, her hand shot to grab the bat right next to her bed, a gift you’d given her for self defense purposes. She was careful not to make any sound, clearly unlike this moron who was breaking into her house on the middle of the night with heavy steps.
The fridge was open, the door hiding the figure of the person behind it.
She was ready to swing—
You. The figure closed the fridge door and it was you in your suit.
Maybe it was the lack of food that caused you not to notice her presence immediately, but you heard the clacks of the wooden bat hitting the floors before you clocked your roommate fully embracing you in a bear hug.
“Quinn!” You chuckled, returning the embrace. “Missed you too.”
She pulled away abruptly after a second, a stern look on her face but a layer of worry in her eyes. “Where the hell have you been?” She grabbed your shoulders and pushed back a little, looking over your entire body, checking for injuries—but you were clean. Not even a scratch. “Shit, you’re okay.”
“I—“
She hugged you again.
That was when you realized why she reacted like this. “How long have I been gone?”
She looked at you like you were crazy. “You’ve been gone a whole week.”
“Shit. I didn’t leave a note, did I?”
The guilt on your face was apparent, but it was nothing compared to the stress everyone had gone through while you were away.
“You didn’t. All of us have been looking for you—“ Something dawned on her. “I…had to tell them.”
You didn’t react the way she expected. She expected you’d be upset—angry, even, but not this. Not you being the one to hug her this time, taking a deep breath.
During the embrace, you spoke, your voice vibrating on her shoulder as your head rested against it.
“It was so stressful, out there. I have so many things to say. But I’m so tired—I wanna explain everything later.” You sighed, “How’s Ethan?”
“He’s okay. I’ll drive you to his place tomorrow, okay?”
Mindy, Chad, Tara, Anika, and Sam all woke up in their respective apartments to a text message in the group chat.
Quinn
Can we all meet at Chad’s place today? In a few minutes. Urgent!!!
After the conversation yesterday, they all expected the worst. Maybe Quinn had gotten information from her cop dad that Spider-Woman was found dead—they were all thiniing it. Ethan, however, having been up until late, was still sound asleep, phone on silent mode.
They met at the front door of the apartment building (of course, except for Chad, who was in his bedroom staring at the text in worry), Sam looking among the group to reassure them. “Guys,” She sighed. “Maybe if’s not bad news.”
Mindy turned to her. “Really?” She sounded exhausted, almost ready to give up.
“If Quinn had really bad news, she would’ve called us. Probably, right?” Tara backed her sister up.
“Let’s just…go in. She’s probably not even here yet.”
Just then, the sound of a car approaching quickly caught their attention—Quinn’s car.
Tara was at the end of the group, giving her the advantage of seeing first who was in the passenger seat of the car, getting out.
“Y/N!” She yelled.
The rest of them turned, almost running to the middle of the street as you closed the car door, leaving Quinn to find parking. You ran to the sidewalk, running into Tara’s arms.
You could feel the warmth radiating from the group as they welcomed you back with open arms, feeling guilty that you must have made them worry for them to react like this. Knowing some of their history with the murders in Woodsboro, it must’ve been terrifying for them to think they could’ve lost another friend.
It wasn’t long until you felt the missing piece, a hole amongst them that resembled a shape in your heart: Ethan.
“Where’s Ethan?” You tried not to show panic, but it was likely obvious due to Anika immediately reassuring you.
“He’s okay! He’s fine—he’s just sleeping.”
You sighed, relief taking over. “He doesn’t usually sleep in this late.”
“He was up late last night, he said he got a good lead on you. He…” She contemplated for a moment, not wanting to worry you. “He took it pretty hard when you dropped off.”
Tara almost slapped her arm. “Yeah,” she looked to you, watching carefully for any signs of panic. “He was worried. Probably more than any of us. But you can wake him up.”
“Do you…Can you tell us what happened? Where were you?” Mindy was reluctant to ask in case it was difficult for you.
But you were happy to tell them—you figured you owed them that much after having them think you were dead for a week. “I’ll tell you inside, come on.”
Pizza and drinks were being passed around, everyone was here, and you chose to sit right beside Ethan. He couldn’t stop looking at you. You could feel it.
As you animatedly told the story of meeting other people who also had spider powers, had similar stories, Ethan then began to wonder what would be next. Would you stay? What if you wanted to go back there, be with people who really, truly understand you?
By the end of the night, the group was preparing for the sleepover. But you could tell something was troubling Ethan. You studied him from the couch while the crew was gathering pillows, and he caught your eye and said, “Wanna go to the rooftop?”
You tilted your head on instinct, confused.
“You know…good air.” He shrugged.
“Sure.”
The walk up was silent. Maybe more than silent, if that were even possible.
As he opened the door to the rooftop, you made eye contact for half a second. And in that half second, Ethan decided he won’t lose you. In that half second, you looked away, then looked up again—and he gently grabbed your wrist, pulling you close enough that you felt his breath on mingling with yours, so close that you thought he was going to kiss you. But he began to speak.
“Can I—”
And you kissed him.
It was a small one, but when you tilted your head to lean in closer and tangled your hands behind his neck—Christ.
You pulled away abruptly and he wondered if he had done something wrong. At the same time he said “Holy shit,” you asked, “Wait, that’s what you were going to ask, right?”
Once his brain recovered, he finally nodded, “Yeah. You beat me to it.”
After a pause, he began again. “Does this mean you won’t leave?”
“Leave? Who said that?”
“Well, I just thought—”
“You’re an idiot, Ethan Landry. Come here.”
Additional Author’s Note: I apologize that Ethan and Reader do not have as many moments in this. Thank you for understanding. Again, if there’s enough interest, here’s a list of fic titles I’d be able to post wips of (keep in mind these are unfinished, you’re allowed to write continuations but my one wish before leaving this site is that my work is not fed into any kind of AI and that includes character ai):
blackout (2k)
dialogue (2k ish)
the dress (900)
rain (1k)
story beats for murder party part 2 (3.2k, jot notes)
reflections (2k)
the bear au (500 ish)
thief (800)
like a fool, im thinking of you (500)
avatar:
hard to love (2k, lo’ak)
sorry for any mistakes i didnt catch during editing !
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