Chapter Text
Sun burst through the clouds, warming Clarke's back as she walked to the coffee shop where she worked. It was the first real day of spring. Flowers had begun to bloom, birds were singing, people were actually smiling as they passed her for the first time since Christmas. Clarke used to take things like this as a sign of things to come, that good things were just around the corner. But that was before.
Before Clarke was plunged into a world of destruction and death where even her own mortality stared her in the face constantly, before she realised that life didn't rely on pure fate and neither should she, before her entire world came crashing down and she had to rebuild it with her bare hands.
When she arrived at the coffee shop, the door was already open. Even though it was only 10am, it was packed with people - students on their way to college, elderly people gossiping over tea and scones, businessmen grabbing a quick caffiene boost before work - and Clarke knew it would only get busier. She hurriedly slung her backpack with the loose stitches from the military patch she'd torn off under the counter, pulled on an apron and took her post next to Eric, the guy she usually shared a shift with.
Around lunch time, a customer caught her eye. A broad-shouldered man with curly hair walked in. He was dressed in a suit, like he was trying to look respectable and serious, but he had a Pokémon backpack that was covered in buttons from various shows and movies that would've easily pinned him as a nerdy teenager had it not been for his great height and smart suit.
"One medium caramel frappé, please." His voice was deep, but kind.
Clarke nodded. "Name?"
The mysterious man flashed a dazzling grin that paired wonderfully with his rich brown eyes. He glanced down at her Marvel t-shirt peeking out from under her apron.
"Peter Parker." Humour danced in his eyes. Clarke looked into them for the first time. At a glance, they appeared to just be brown. Looking closer, she realised that "brown" was far too simple of a way to describe them. His eyes were the colour of copper in honey, the shade of nature after it rains. They were the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen.
Clarke shook her head and brought herself back down to earth. "Right. I'll call you when it's ready, Mr. Parker." She tried to say his name with a straight face, but couldn't help chuckling.
"Left your SpideySuit at Stark Tower, huh?" She asked, still smirking.
"Shh!" He whispered with such an urgency that Clarke was taken aback. "I'm undercover. Friendly neighbourhood Spiderman, y'know?" He winked at her, causing her to blush and giggle in a very un-Clarke-like way.
"I get you. Well, Peter. Your coffee is ready. Have fun saving the neighbourhood."
"Peter" flashed an irritatingly cute smile, winked again and left.
Feelings stirred in Clarke stomach. This handsome stranger had made her feel a way she hadn't felt since, well, high school when she dated her first - and only - boyfriend. She shook her head, attempted to shake off the memories of Finn and the thoughts from earlier about how the wonderful weather was a sign, and concentrated on her job.
For a few days, life went on as normal for her. She went to work, she came home, she took care of her dog, she went to therapy, and worked on her art. Her therapist had recommended for her to rekindle the love for art that she had before her trauma. She mainly did sketches of fictional characters and her dog (a golden retriever named Pikachu). However, now all Clarke seemed to be able to draw was a man. A tall man with curly hair and the most gorgeous eyes, a man dressed in a neat suit with a childish backpack. Even though she still hadn't seen him again, he was all that crossed her mind.