𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 — 𝙝𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙥𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚

☕

          IT WAS, THANKFULLY, a night where Brendon didn't have to work. Instead of taking orders or making coffee or calling out names (correctly and incorrectly, depending on whether or not he liked the person), he was lying on his bed with his feet in Betty's lap (her laptop sitting on his feet) and on Cindy's bed were Bren and Harry, cuddled up together.

They would never admit it later, but they were definitely making googly-eyes at each other and it was so clear that they were this close to actually making out. (Not that Brendon would be opposed if they did, they had been dancing around each other for months now and he was willing to start chanting for them to kiss if that's what it took.) Betty would have noticed the same thing as him if she stopped looking at her screen as she edited another article for the Bugle.

(Brendon wondered how she hadn't gone insane yet, staring at screens constantly and cleaning up the messes left by actual journalists who should know grammar and, of course, how to actually fucking write an article. But oh well...)

It was the day after classes began again after Thanksgiving break and Brendon was still thinking about Peter – then again, when was he not thinking about that boy? But it wasn't just because of his general hotness and how he had to be fucking ripped and looked amazing in just a t-shirt and not his usual sweater, or how he was so smart it made Brendon want to cry. Out of jealously but also pride, that was his future husband, after all.

"Peter invited me to Thanksgiving," Brendon told them, staring up at the ceiling, not looking to notice how Harry choked on his spit and even Betty stopped typing.

"He did what?" Betty asked him.

All eyes were trained on him as he nodded. "Yep," he confirmed, "He invited me over. It was just him and his Aunt May – who is an amazing woman, by the way. She was really sweet."

"How did you not mention this before?" Bren asked him, "How did you not text any of us this very important detail that most definitely needed to be shared?"

"Never mind that, how did Peter not tell me that he was gonna do this?" Harry asked, but it was mostly to himself. Then he frowned, "I am definitely going to have to talk to Aunt May about this..."

"Leave him alone," Brendon said to Harry, "I don't really think he thought it through. His aunt didn't even know about it until I showed up back to his house with him. But she was nice and let me stay."

"Of course she did, May is incredible," Harry told him, "I remember when we were younger and she would try to bake us cookies. The key word is try because anything involving May and the kitchen is bound to end in disaster."

Brendon snorted at that, "Everything she had just needed to be put in the microwave to heat it up."

Harry laughed and nodded, thinking about how that sounded just like May. Bren looked at him fondly and Brendon had to restrain himself from busting their heads together and forcing them to make out. They would thank him later if he did, but also that could end in disaster, so he decided against it.

"Parker is such a disaster," Betty groaned and Brendon shot her a look, "What? He is! Ask Harry since he actually lives with him."

The Osborn boy nodded at that, "He always leaves his underwear on the floor and I don't care how hot you think that boy is, his ducky boxers definitely don't do anything for him."

Brendon snorted at that, finding the fact that he had ducky underwear more dorky than degrading, and the two others in the room laughed uncontrollably for a moment.

"Oh my God, I am never letting him live that down," Betty promised, "I am definitely using this knowledge against him forever."

"I also has Hello Kitty pants, if you were wondering," Harry added and the three starting laughing again.

"God, what a mess," Betty nodded in confirmation, smug that her assumption was correct, as usual. "That brings me so much joy to know all of this. I really don't know how you like him, Brendon."

Brendon whined at that, "Because he's fucking smart, like I could never do that. And he's kind and he blushes so easily and his cheeks get so pink and I wanna pinch them because he's adorable. And – and he stutters and it makes my heart flutter."

Betty blinked. "Correction: you're both disasters, that's how you like him and it's probably why he likes you to."

He threw her a scandalous look. "Peter has no idea that I like him!"

"Then you're an idiot," Bren told him. Brendon glared at him and he rolled his eyes, "Oh don't give me that look. You're so obvious about your crush – I mean, you both are. I really don't know how you think he doesn't like it, it's written everywhere. Not just in his eyes or his posture, but fucking everywhere."

Brendon rolled his eyes and was about to disagree but Harry cut him off, "He talks about you, you know? And only wants to go to the coffee shop if you're working there."

"So he likes my service, that doesn't mean he likes me," Brendon wrote it off, only to gain three stares of disbelief, "What?"

"I don't know how I'm friends with you, you're an actual idiot," Betty muttered and Brendon frowned at her words.

"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm delightful!" Brendon protested.

"Sure..." Betty sarcastically agreed and his frown deepened even though he knew that she didn't actually mean it.

"Well now that's just rude," he concluded and she just rolled her eyes at him.

She hit his foot lightly before saying, "Quit denying the truth and maybe I'll stop being so rude to you."

Brendon scoffed at that, "I'm not denying the truth, I'm just saying that Peter would never like me."

"Of course he would," Harry butt in.

"Whatever, I don't wanna talk about this anymore," Brendon muttered, "What I do wanna know is what's going on between the two of you."

He pointed the two boys sitting on the other bed who looked at each other before blushing and looking away. "What?" Bren asked in an extremely high voice, "I have no idea what you mean."

Betty rolled her eyes, "Sure..." she let out, just like before with Brendon.

"Betty!" Bren hissed at her.

"Um," Harry cleared his voice, "There's nothing going on between us."

"Yeah, I don't believe that for a second," Brendon called them out on their bullshit, "Come on, it's so clear that you guys are ready to fucking bone. Like, the sexual tension is killing me."

Bren sent him a look before looking at Harry, who had his eyes trained on him. "How about this," Harry started, "You tell Parker that you like him and get together, and then we'll go on a date."

Bren glared at Harry, "You don't really mean that, do you? Nothing will ever happen now because Brendon would never."

"I'll do it," Brendon cut off Bren's whisper to his soon-to-be boyfriend.

Betty raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"If it'll get them together – which will actually happen – I guess I'll have my heart tragically broken by Peter when he rejects me and then cry about it for weeks after to them until they feel guilty," Brendon smiled at them.

The two boys just stared at him. "You're guilt-tripping us," Bren stated, "I hate it."

Brendon shrugged, "Hey, it's your boyfriend who started this, so blame him for my actions, not me."

"That doesn't even make any sense!" Bren cried at his logic but Brendon didn't say or do anything.

"I guess we have a deal," Harry looked at him.

"Yep."

"No," Bren broke in, "Neither of you are agreeing to this – I don't like it."

Harry rolled his eyes and leaned in to whisper to Bren, "Parker isn't going to reject him, he's just being dramatic. Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"You better or else I'll kick your ass," Bren whispered back but didn't protest further.

Brendon looked between them and when they split apart, asked, "So we have an agreement?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah."

"Cool."

Betty shook her head, "This is not going to end well..."

"Oh, shut up," Harry told her before recoiling into himself when she glared at him. "Sorry!"

＆

The next night, however, Brendon was not so lucky and did have the closing shift. So when the coffee shop closed, Izzy left and it was just him left behind to clean everything up. So he started washing the appliances and wiped down the counters and all the tables before putting the chairs on top of them.

He hummed to himself as he did his work, trying to go as quickly as he could because he really wanted to go to bed. He missed not having to stay up late over break and this was really putting a damper on his mood.

When he was almost done cleaning off all the tables, the door opened and the chime of the bell was heard. Without turning around to look at the person, Brendon called, "We're closed!"

"Even for me?" the voice asked from behind him, causing him to freeze for a moment before turning around and see Spider-Man standing there.

"You're back," Brendon blurted out before saying quickly, "I mean, it's been a while since you've been here."

"Yeah, crime's been keeping me away and the nights when I can come...you're not here or it's too late," Spider-Man explained himself.

Brendon smirked, asking, "So you don't go around charming every employee for free coffee? I'm feeling very special now."

Spider-Man laughed at him, "I can't say that I have."

"Good," Brendon said, "You've made me feel too important to knock me down."

"I'll keep that in mind," the masked superhero said to him.

"Just wait a minute for me to finish cleaning and then I'll make us a drink," Brendon told him, wiping off the last table and placing the chairs on top before going behind the counter and starting up the machine again. "So what are you feeling tonight?"

Brendon wasn't really expecting an answer from him – knowledge from before told him that the superhero didn't know anything about coffee other than it woke him up and would probably take anything that someone offered him – so he looked at his choices and reaching a decision for himself.

"Surprise me," Spider-Man told him, just as Brendon predicted.

"Alright, s'mores it is," Brendon told him. After waiting a moment for a complaint and getting none, he started making the coffee which only took a minute or two and then he was sitting down at a table in the middle of the shop across from Spider-Man again.

Spider-Man took the drink and let it sit before him, not daring to drink it and burn his tongue. Brendon did the same, experience in the past telling him that it was best just to wait and enjoy the taste instead of burning off his taste buds so that he could warm himself. New York was just too cold for him, he really didn't understand how people could love winter. Fuck snow, it was terrible!

"So how has the city been?" Brendon asked him.

Spider-Man shrugged, "The same as usual. Lots of crime from idiots and some who actually planned. It's a lot of fun to foil their plans, though."

Brendon snorted and then cursed silently at himself for doing that in front of one of his favorite heroes. "Sounds like it," he agreed, recalling Cindy's own excitement about webbing up bad guys who were especially cocky about their skills. "Anyway, what's your favorite show?"

The superhero laughed, "Seriously?"

"What?" Brendon asked defensively, "I can't ask you personal questions, secret identity and all, so this is what I'm stuck with – and I made you coffee, so answer the question."

"I don't know, Brooklyn Nine-Nine probably," Spider-Man shrugged.

"Good choice, I love that show," Brendon agreed, "I'm also a sucker for Keeping Up with the Kardashians."

He would never admit that to any of his friends or people he knew in his personal life, but this was Spider-Man – someone he would never meet the civilian identity of. It was like admitting it to a stranger online. There were no consequences, so who cares that he liked the show? It was so dramatic and entertaining.

"I never pegged you as a reality TV watcher," Spider-Man said surprised.

Brendon shrugged, "Well, it's not like you really know me, and I don't watch a lot of it – just the Kardashians and all of their spin-offs really."

He didn't see how the superhero internally froze, reminded once again that Brendon doesn't know that it's him – that he did know Brendon, that they were friends in and out of costume. That he was admitting this to a masked superhero, not him, but he still knew because he did know him.

"Yeah, I guess," Spider-Man agreed, sipping at his drink before wincing at how hot it was. He should've realized from all of the steam that was still emitting from it.

Brendon waited for a moment, reaching for another question before asking, "Which Hogwarts house are you in?"

"Oh, Hufflepuff," the superhero answered without hesitation.

The Winchester boy nodded at the new information, "Right, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, should've guessed."

"Which house are you in?" the hero returned the question.

"Um, duh. I'm a Hufflepuff for sure," Brendon said, "I have managed to gain, like, six friends since I've moved here and here I am, making you coffee. I think it's clear where my loyalties lie."

"I guess that makes sense," Spider-Man agreed, nodding his head. "So, what's your favorite book in the series?"

Brendon shrugged, "I don't really know. I like Chamber of Secrets and Order of the Phoenix, even if it is very teenage angsty."

"I like Prisoner of Azkaban," he said back and Brendon nodded.

"Good choice," he said before sighing, "God, I love Sirius Black so much. Like, he's so great."

"I know!" the superhero exclaimed in agreement, "But who could hate him? He basically starved himself and only ate rats and lived in a cave so that he could be near Harry in case needed anything in Goblet of Fire."

"Best godfather ever, easily," Brendon agreed, smiling to himself as the superhero got fired up and continued to bring points up about how great Sirius was, which he always agreed with and even added his own.

Even if he couldn't know Spider-Man's identity or anything too personal that would give it away, he could still know how much of a massive nerd he was. That had to count for something.