Chapter Text
“Uh… is that Spiderman sat on the roof over there?”
Lando’s eyes bulged as he scrambled up from his place on the floor, feet sliding as he hauled himself over to the window where Charles was peeking through the blinds. He managed to latch onto the window edge before he could crash into the wall, steadying himself before spying out the window alongside Charles. “Where ? I don’t see him!” He exclaimed, his eyes frantically scanning the surrounding buildings before landing on the red suited hero.
Spiderman was perched on the building directly opposite them, a plain black jumper thrown over his suit and a backpack next to him, kicking his feet like a child on a high chair. He seemed to be watching the ongoing traffic below, waiting for anything to happen. The sunset casted an orange glow over the sky and over Spiderman himself, his shadow looming on the cold concrete roof. It looked like an ethereal picture, Lando’s eyes beamed at the sight. No matter how much he sees it, he can never get tired of it.
Despite the hoodie and the backpack, the scene in front of him truly made Spiderman appear to be the great hero he is, casting all focus on the hero perched on the roof.
It wasn’t the first time Lando had seen him sat on the roof as the sun would begin to dim. In fact, it seemed to be where he was most days at this time and Lando was always there to catch a glimpse. As the last two months passed and winter was drawing closer, Spiderman had always gone there just as the sun began to descend and the moon would rise. Lando was usually waiting by the window for his arrival, the time slipping his mind today as Charles was over and the sunsets were becoming earlier each day.
Charles scrunched his nose in confusion, brows furrowed as he watched Lando’s near collision with the wall. “Why is Spider-Man here? Isn’t he supposed to be swinging around, fighting crime?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be in your own flat instead of bothering me in my mine?” Lando retaliated, the Monegasque scoffing in return. It was no secret that Lando might be one of Spiderman’s biggest fans. He had been following him closely for the last two years when Spiderman made his first appearance as London’s finest (and only) superhero during his first year in the university of London. He was now in his third and final year of university, still as enchanted to see him as he was the first time when he was saved by the hero himself.
Charles raised his eyebrows, “I do not want to hear you complaining when you invited me!” He had now turned to face Lando directly, but Lando was still too infatuated with the hero and his black hoodie. He felt an odd feeling in his stomach seeing him, he brushed it away.
“If I hadn’t invited you, you would’ve turned up anyway,” he rolled his eyes, drawing the blinds back to get rid of the obstructed view to Spiderman. “You had a date with Max, of course you were going to show up.
“You invited me to be nosey.”
“It’s not being nosey if you were gonna tell me about it anyway.”
“That is the last time I will come to you about anything, garçon stupide!”
Lando fake a gasp of offence, still not breaking his eyes from the sunset glowing hero. “Don’t call me stupid in French, you bastard! I might be dumb but I can still understand you sometimes!”
A smirk grew on the older boys face, “you were supposed to understand it”
Lando scoffed, not bothering to respond. His elbows were now resting on the bay of the window, resting his head on his hand as he watched time pass. His hero is still there. “You still didn’t answer my question.”
“What question?” Lando lulled.
“Why the fuck Spiderman is there!”
The British boy shrugged his shoulders, “How should I know? He started doing this a few months ago. Just started showing up there at sunset, making himself comfortable for about half an hour and then he leaves.”
“So you have been watching him?”
“Course I have, how can I not? Tell me he is not the most interesting thing you’ve ever laid your eyes on!”
Charles raised an eyebrow, “I was just on a date with Max, do you really want to answer that question?”
“Whatever, each to their own taste,” Lando grumbled. Max and Charles. What a pairing that no one could see coming (big on the sarcasm). The two had been dancing around each other since Lando met them, what started as karting rivals back in their youth ended up with them being absolutely smitten for each other and making everyone else around them begging for sweet release at their sickening flirting. Of course, Lando hadn’t been there for their first meeting (having met them both while they were third years and he was a first year) and thankfully didn’t have to deal with their rivalry the way that Alex, George and Pierre did. Charles and Max like to brag about how they were fated to meet again in London after meeting in their younger years. Lando can’t help but gag.
Suddenly, Spiderman got up from his spot and took his back bag, swinging it over one shoulder. He stood on the edge of the roof before allowing himself to free fall off the building then shooting a web to one of the nearby buildings and swinging away into the night. Lando could never be tired of watching him soar around the city, gliding through the air like an acrobat. “Huh, he left earlier today.”
Charles shuffled so he was looking through the window again, just barely catching a glimpse of Spiderman leaving. “Perhaps he had a crime to stop? The life of a superhero never stops,” he suggested. He was probably right, it didn’t help lessen his disappointment however. Spiderman hadn’t been there for the last couple of days and Lando had been looking forward to seeing him.
“Yeah I guess…” He sluggishly made his way back to the sofa where the paused F1 23 game was, long abandoned in favour of listening to Charles gossip about his date (and then getting sidetracked to talk about how his business was going, only to go back to talking about Max).
His phone suddenly went off, he quickly grabbed it knowing only one person would text him around this time of the evening.
Oscar Piastri
Coming back from my run now, you want anything from Maccas?
Lando rolled his eyes, how many times does he need to correct this guy?
Lando Norris
I’m not giving you my order until you either say McDonalds or Maccies you knob jockey
Oscar Piastri
You don't need to tell me your order, I already know it
Knob jockey? What are you, 12?
Do you want any or not?
Lando Norris
Course I want some what kinda question is this honestly
Can you get me a McFlurry too
Malteasers
If I’m 12 that makes you a grandad, I know what I’d prefer to be you historic bastard
Why have you finished your run so soon?
Oscar Piastri
Anything else, your majesty?
Park was a bit crowded, been studying all day too, give myself a break
Promised to watch Game of Thrones with you tonight too, can’t let you down
You’ll end up crying again
Lando Norris
I cried one time that you missed our movie night!! You can’t hold that against me forever
Hurry up, I want my cheeseburger and McFlurry
Oscar Piastri
Carry on with the attitude and you’ll be having a fillet o’fish
See you in 20
Lando Norris
You wouldn’t dare
Actually
Please don’t
Oscar?
Oscar!!
DO NOT GET ME A FILLET O’FISH
“What’re you smiling at?”
“AH!” Lando screeched, his phone flying before landing on the sofa next to him. He sighed with relief, he couldn’t have his old special gift breaking on him now. He whipped his head around to see Charles standing over him and looking over his shoulders clearly reading the conversation. The smug bastard had the nerve to stand there with a smirk on his face. “Have you ever heard of not snooping?”
Charles scoffed before walking around the sofa to plop himself down next to Lando. “Is that not what you have always done with me? I have found you on my phone more times than I could count.”
“I did that for your sake and you wouldn’t be where you are without me, so you should be thanking me!”
“Can I not do any meddling for you myself?” Charles asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
While it was no secret Lando was obsessed with Spiderman, it also wasn’t a secret that Lando may have a slight crush on his roommate. Slight may be an understatement. He quite liked Oscar. He liked Oscar’s dry humour, with his direct bluntness that goes hand and hand with his own humour. He liked how phlegmatic he was, remaining calm and level headed. He liked Oscar’s smile, when he would say something sweet to Lando. His laugh, when he tries to stay stoic when Lando says something stupid and he can’t help but laugh. His eyes, the way he looks at him and they way they sparkle, it should be illegal. His hands, the way they move rapid fire when he’s inspired to draw what he sees. His body, the way it feels under his own when they do their nightly routine of cuddling watching something. His Adam’s Apple bopping as he talks. His hair after a shower. His flushed face when Lando playfully flirts with him. His ass, when he walks away from Lando and he can’t help but eye him up and down. His thighs-
He’s getting carried away.
Point is, Oscar to him was everything. His roommate, his friend, the person who stuck by him for the third year rolling. They got along like a house on fire. But he also made Lando feel like his pants were on fire.
“You’re not meddling with me and Oscar.”
“But why not! He may like you too for all you know,” Charles pouted, swinging his feet up on the sofa and turning to face Lando completely. “He would not have put up with you for so long if he didn’t.”
“Are you saying you fancy me too, Leclerc?”
“In your dreams, Norris. One can only dream of me having the hots for them, wait your turn, there is a very long line.”
“And yet someone bypassed that line very quickly.”
Charles whacked him with a cushion quickly, leaving Lando defenseless. “Bastard! Don’t hit me!”
“Anyway, how long do you plan to keep this going? Pretending that your feelings are not there? It will do you no good, mon ami. You are only hurting yourself. I believe you should do something soon, for your own sake.” Charles frowned, the conversation suddenly turning serious.
“Keep what going?” Lando questioned. “I’m happy with what we have! It’s just a stupid crush, maybe a little bit of sexual tension on my side but I just need to get out some more! Find some hot girl or guy, get them in the room and get it out of my system.” He explained, waving his hands around. “I don’t need to do anything, he is my best friend-“ Charles feigned a false heartbroken expression “-and I’m happy I get to have him in my life at all. I’m keeping whatever I can of him.”
Charles tilted his head, “Lando.”
“Charles.”
“Just take care of yourself, oui?”
“Thanks for caring, dad.” Charles snorted.
“You wish you had a dad as hot as me”
Lando scrunched his nose in disgust, “you are filthy, and not the good kind!”
They swiftly moved on from the discussion of Oscar, sensing that Lando was done talking about it any further. Time passes before they could hear the front door open and close, Lando darting his eyes to look at the person entering.
He grinned as he saw Oscar, and the grin only grew more when he saw the McDonald’s bag in his hand, flying up from the sofa and running towards the food, “gimme!”
“Hold yourself, mate. You can wait for me to take my shoes off, you scoundrel.” Oscar teased as he removed his trainers. He looked up to say something else to Lando before noticing Charles sat in the living room. “Charles! Shit, sorry mate I didn’t know you were here. Want me to whip you something up?” He glared at Lando, once again forgetting to let him know a guest was over.
“Non, I will leave you two to it. I must get going, I promised to give maman a call tonight before she heads to bed.” Charles hastily made his way from the sofa to the front door, pulling his coat on elegantly while slipping his shoes on, a red scarf wrapping around his neck. “You are coming to my Christmas party, right? Would not want you to miss this year’s one, you have to actually stay for one of them!”
Oscar seemed a bit sheepish, a hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world, mate. Can’t say I’ll be too much fun to have around though.”
“Shut up!” Lando lightly smacked his arm. “You’re coming, we can drink if you want and we’ll have fun, we’ll make up for you completely missing last year.”
Oscar. He seemed to make many excuses for things. Over the years, he had missed out on many parties held by their friends, skipped most clubbing nights, he kept to himself but did his best to remain sociable with their friends (mostly thanks to Lando dragging him everywhere he went). He always made sure to have as much time as he could for Lando outside his schedule though, outside his busy life. Lando started blaming the fact Oscar was just a lot more introverted than others and he needed Lando to bring him out of his shell.
“He’ll be there, I’ll make sure of it.”
“Good,” Charles smiled sweetly. “Right, I best go. Have a good night both. Lando, think about what I said!” He shouted on his way out of the flat, leaving them both standing in the doorway.
Oscar leaned out the door to watch him leave before closing the door. “What’s that about?” He raised an eyebrow at the Monegasque’s antics. “Actually, do I even wanna know?”
“No, you really don’t.” He sighed, snatching the bag from Oscar’s hands and ignoring his exclaimed ‘hey!’. He jumped on the sofa, brought the coffee table closer and emptied the bag's contents. A minute later, Oscar sat down after removing his black hoodie. Lando eyed him up and down before, having to stop himself from liking his lips. Instead of focusing on his hair, his glistening skin and the pink flush on his face, he said: “ew, you’re so sweaty.”
Not what he was thinking, but it will do.
The Australian rolled his eyes, “I mean I did just get back from a run. What do you expect? I’ll be clean and pristine? Pass me my fries, dickhead.”
Lando pushed Oscar’s items towards him, also grabbing the orange blanket and draping it over them both after noticing Oscar still had shorts on from the run. “I honestly expected a fillet o’fish after you stopped answering me.”
“I’m cruel to you but I’m not that cruel, god.”
“You once put a fish on my pillow, I had to throw all my bedding away!”
“I mean, you did cockblock me, what did you expect?”
“How was I supposed to know that the banging on the door didn’t mean you needed to get out?”
“By using your fucking brain, perhaps? I texted you saying someone was over.”
Lando snatched his McFlurry off the table, sinking into the sofa and pulling his hoodie over his head. His race turned red at the memory. He had come home after a day full of lectures and walked straight to their flat, headphones blasting and rushing to be home. He had heard banging coming from Oscar’s room over the sound of his music and could see the door moving with it. Listen, he was just trying to be a good roommate, he thought Oscar was stuck in his room or maybe needed help! What he didn’t expect was to barge into his room and see Oscar and another guy jump back from the door. Oscar naked while the other dude was still in his boxers.
Lando had ran back to his room and locked the door before Oscar or the guy could say anything, since then couldn’t really erase the image of Oscar from his mind.
He shoved a mouthful of the McFlurry in his mouth, “he wasn’t that good looking anyway, I saved you.” The Brit states with a mouthful of ice cream, the words barely understandable. Good thing Oscar is fluent in Lando.
“Eat your ice cream before you speak, you menace, you’re disgusting.” Lando turned to him with an open mouth smile, Oscar pretended to gag. “You’re right though, but don’t let that get to your head.”
They continue to eat their McDonald’s in a comfortable silence, the low sound of the television in the background. Seems How I Met Your Mother was playing in the back, Oscar must’ve put it on while they were talking. Lando finishes the McFlurry and goes to grab his burger (yes he eats the ice cream first, no it’s not weird, he just doesn’t want to eat it when it’s melted!) and his phone falls off his lap and heads towards the floor.
Oscar’s hand reaches out to grab it, his eyes not leaving the screen and still peacefully eating his food. “Here, you don't want another to break now.” He tossed it back into Lando’s lap and continued doing what he was doing.
It wasn’t like Lando wasn’t used to his old reflexes, since he met Oscar he was always there when Lando was being clumsy. Whether it was grabbing something Lando dropped, knocked into or even Lando himself, he was always there to catch it. He thought it was quite sweet, how observant Oscar was to notice and be quick enough to grab it.
Suddenly, Lando remembered the sight he had seen earlier. “Dude, Spiderman was opposite the building again! He’s been there so much recently, I’m starting to think he lives here or something.”
Oscar choked on a french fry, lightly patting his chest and grabbing his drink to wash it down. “Have you thought about the fact that he probably likes the area?”
“No! He goes there with a hoodie and a backpack, he’s probably on his way home or something! Could you imagine? Spiderman could actually live in the flats opposite us!” Lando exclaimed, turning his head to the window and he could slightly see the same building. The world now becoming suffocated by the increasing darkness, the sunset long gone.
Oscar pinched the bridge of his nose, “I think you’re reading into this way too much, mate.”
“He’s there nearly every day, Oscar!” Lando pouts, his accent emphasising ‘Oscuh’, a barely there smile made its way to the Australian’s face. “There has got to be a reason he’s there everyday.”
He shrugged. “Maybe he enjoys the view?”
Lando sighed before going back to his food. There had to be a reason that Spiderman kept going there during the sunset. Why would he be there nearly every day right as sunset begins? Why would he be in their area at all? London was big, he certainly had a lot of area to cover, he could better preoccupy himself. Whatever the reason, Lando was determined to find out.
The Aussie finished his food and stuffed the rubbish into the carrier bag. “Just gonna pop to the shower, I’ll be back in 10.”
This was their routine. They both attend their lectures, Lando takes some photos for his photography account and heads to the Daily Bugle to do some hours, submitting the photos he’d taken. Oscar will also head to his job at the library or to his internship at Webber Industries. Lando will go home, Oscar will go on a run. He’ll come home, they’ll order a takeaway or cook food together. They’ll eat, shower, watch a show and head to bed.
Max called it domestic. Lando agreed.
Oscar eventually returned, wearing a plain white T-shirt and some loose grey joggers. He climbed back under the blanket, reached for the television remote, changing the source of the television from the Playstation, beginning to flick through the channels absentmindedly. He stopped on the news channel briefly as he heard the mention of Doctor Octopus (the recent villain seen terrorising the city), the one Spiderman had been seen battling with in the streets as of recent. Unfortunately, everytime Lando caught wind of it and tried to show up to snag a photo- and maybe a glimpse of Spiderman, the battle had already moved or ended.
Lando skipped past the channel before putting Game of Thrones back on and picking up where they left off. He had heard enough of the supervillain for the past few days, now it was time to focus on Oscar. Currently, they were on season 4, after Joffrey’s death and Tyrion is currently on trial for murder. Lando’s watched it all before, but he insisted that Oscar needed to watch and that Lando needed to be there to view his every reaction and answer any questions.
The Australian turned to Lando, motioning him to move. He shifted closer until he was leaning against Oscar, his head resting on the younger one’s shoulder, his arm snaking around Oscar’s weight to pull him tight against him. Lando pursed his lips as a fuzzy feeling spread throughout his body, his grip tightening on the blanket. Stupid Charles and his stupid French language and his stupid accent-
“You okay, mate? Don’t think too hard, wouldn't want you to break.”
Lando snapped back into focus, his head twisting up to meet Oscar’s face, concern evident in his eyes but hidden under a stoic expression. Ever the most expressional person, he nearly rolled his eyes, “yeah, I’m okay.” He said softly. They held their eye contact, sweet smiles exchanged as Oscar’s hand made its way to Lando’s neck, running a finger up and down the side of it in a soothing manner.
“I did not kill Joffrey, but I wish that I had!”
“Oh my god no, rewind it, this is one of my favourite scenes and it needs our full attention!”
As the evening drew to a close and they bid each other goodnight, Lando was nearly asleep before he heard rustling from outside his room. He waited a few minutes and it eventually stopped. With a sigh, he tossed his blanket to the side and climbed out of bed. Groggily, he crossed the room and threw open the door, knocking on Oscar’s door.
Two times.
Silence.
Two more times.
No answer.
He quietly opened the door, seeing the messy bed and clothes thrown on the floor, the curtains flying as the window was thrown open and a cold breeze chilled his bones. Lando’s teeth clattered and he dodged the mess on Oscar’s floor, closing the window.
Just another one of Oscar’s midnight runs.
*
It had all started like this.
Lando, a young boy from Bristol, looking for a fresh start had decided to go to the University of London to study Psychology. Which he would later learn would be the death of him.
During that first year of university, where he shared a dorm room with 5 other people, he met Oscar Piastri. Oscar, an Australian exchange student studying Physics, who hadn’t a clue about anything relating to London and in a place he didn’t recognise, Lando practically adopted him on the spot. The first few months there, they had become near inseparable. Despite their rooms being right next door to each other, they could always be found together (mostly in Lando’s room for his PlayStation), often falling asleep practically on top of each other. They watched every show that interested them together, every movie, listened to album drops, planned concerts, everything they did together. Lando even learnt that even though he’s a Physics student, he was amazing at art, always sketching or painting his surroundings, sometimes even gifting Lando with a portrait of himself. He loved to watch Oscar, loved to just sit there with the sound of their shared playlist and watch him sketch away as he conjured up whatever was on his mind.
They swiftly became best friends.
They were inseparable- until they weren’t.
Instead of spending every waking moment together when they didn’t have any lectures, Oscar had taken up running a lot. In the morning? He’s off for a run. After a lecture? He’s gotta have a run. Just before bed after he nearly fell asleep on Lando? He absolutely must go for a run. Lando blamed it on the fact Oscar was now comfortable in the new city and no longer needed his emotional support friend. He’d always question Oscar’s weird schedule back then, why does he need to go on so many runs each day? Why does he sometimes need to go on more than three runs a day? It was always bizarre to him, Oscar said it’s just how Australians are.
Lando believed him. Probably. But who was he to keep pestering him?
Oscar had also taken on a job at the library and an internship to help towards his work experience in physics, interning at Webber Industries. He had gone through a grueling interviewing process, he told Lando, eventually he had been chosen and since then they always gave him erratic hours to work. Oscar had said part of his contract meant they could call on him at any time to come and work a shift if they really wanted to, although he did have his own set shifts and they didn’t tend to ask him to come in too often.
They were still close, still best friends. They both still texted each other at every opportunity and still hung out when they could. It’s why in the first few months of knowing each other, they decided they were going to share a flat during their second year. Maybe it was a quick decision to make, but Lando was absolutely sure that he didn’t want to share with anyone else but Oscar. The Australian was pretty laid back and kinda just went along with what Lando wanted, the British boy always did have a certain charm about him no one could quite resist.
Closing up to Christmas time during his first year of university, Lando and Oscar were ‘invited’ (read: heard about) to the party that George Russell was holding which was currently the talk of all the campus. Supposedly, he had thrown one the previous two years and this would be his last one since he was now in his third year. Who were they to ever say no to a party? Well, more likely Oscar doesn’t care but Lando drags him along anyway. There was no way in hell Lando was ever going to miss a party of that magnitude.
Lando and Oscar had gone after catching wind of it and had gotten absolutely plastered to the point that they could barely walk (well, perhaps it was only Lando that was near black out drunk, he can barely remember, Oscar maintains the story that he was just a little bit tipsy). The night had been going well, he found himself taking control of the music, much to the bemusement of the friends he had made since being in university. He would soon lose Oscar in the crowd and of course, found himself getting into trouble without him.
They had ended up playing truth or dare, with someone daring Lando to go to the roof of the flat block they were in and stand on the ledge for thirty seconds. In his head it was easy, no big deal, all he had to do was stand there for thirty seconds and be done with it. With a smirk and clumsily getting to his feet after using everyone around him to drag himself up from the floor, he made his way to the roof. Everyone was following, phones out ready to record whatever was about to happen. The friends he had made over the past month, Charles, Max, Alex and Pierre had hastily followed with Charles banging on about how it was not a good idea.
It was freezing outside and he hadn’t been wearing anything but a T-shirt, goosebumps coating his tanned skin that was suffering in the cold winter days. He stumbled over towards the edge of the roof, only now seeing how high up they truly were. They were originally on the second floor of the 8 storey building. It was a very long way down, but there was no backing out now.
He hoisted himself up on the brick wall outlining the edge of the roof, swaying as he did so. His balance wasn’t all that steady, but it was only 30 seconds. Lando turned his back to the city and faced everyone on the roof instead. As he turned to face them, he misplaced his foot, tripping over himself.
It was like a slow-motion scene from a movie, where a character is about to die and their whole life is suddenly flashing before their eyes. Where they start to replay the happy memories they have had throughout the series, never expecting them to be the one to perish at the end. His drink had long fallen out of his hand and went hurdling to the ground, his body soon following. Lando could hear the gasps, but it was too late. He felt himself free falling through the air and screwed his eyes shut. It was weird. People talked about a calamity feeling overcoming you when you were falling through the sky, but all Lando could feel was adrenaline and the overwhelming sense of doom. One moment he was falling, and the next he was against something hard.
His eyes were still screwed shut and the feeling of something hard against him made him scream out. It wasn’t until five seconds had passed that his screaming halted, realising there was no pain across his body. Is this what it was like to be dead? Did you not feel the life inside you leaving? Do you not feel the pain of what happened to you? He was suddenly very aware of his heartbeat pounding out of his chest, his breathing rapid and his body covered in warmth despite the winter night. He slowly opened his eyes, immediately met with a red mask, accompanied with big white eyes and black lines.
Spiderman. Lando had heard about him, he was all over the news at the moment. The masked vigilante showing up at every crime scene in London and sorting it before the police could even arrive. His first appearance was a month before the party, then he had sported a suit that looked a little like pajamas to him (but hey, he’s not gonna judge, he couldn’t get a super suit better than that) and now he was dressed with a much higher quality suit. He was everywhere, the news, radio, social media, you name it. Videos and photos of his sightings were everywhere. Lando hadn’t really had much interest in it, until that moment.
“Uh… hey,” Spiderman began, holding a very distressed Lando Norris as it suddenly dawned on him what had just happened. “You gotta be careful on those roofs, you know. Very troublesome, not very safe.” Huh. He had a little bit of an accent, Lando couldn’t quite put his finger on it but it was obvious he wasn’t from around here. “You’re alright now, mate. Just stay away from the roof next time, yeah?”
Spiderman had lowered him down, allowing his feet to touch the ground again. As Lando touched the ground, his knees buckled, still feeling the effect of falling through the sky and nearly meeting a not so pleasant end. The masked hero still had an arm around him, pulling him before he could fall. “Woah there, easy now. Let’s sit down, okay?” He led him over to the bench outside the building. By now, everyone on the roof had run over to check if he had succumbed to the fall, instead noticing Spiderman was there. He could see a few of them running away, probably looking to come and meet the hero himself.
“I-I…I don’t know what to say. Thank you, oh my god, if you hadn’t been there I would’ve just fucking died, flat like a fucking pancake on the pavement! Could you imagine my face becoming a pancake?” Lando burst out as soon as he sat down, his emotions suddenly catching up to him. He could imagine how he looked right now, probably a little dazed, hair sticking up in places it should not be, red cheeks and wild eyes. Maybe a tear here and there. Yeah, he was definitely crying a little bit.
Spiderman shrugged, “I mean, you wouldn’t really have a face if you had hit the floor.”
“That doesn’t help how I feel!”
“It should, because you’ve still got your face!” Lando gave him a pointed look. Spiderman stares back, and Lando isn’t sure how but he thinks he can see concern in the white eyes of the mask. “Seriously though, are you okay? How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”
“M’fine,” Lando replies as he rubs his face. “Sure, I just went flying through the sky but nothing I can’t deal with. Actually it seems pretty cool now that I've come out of it unscafed, at least I won’t ever need to do skydiving now!” He joked, wiping away the remaining tears that had fallen down his face.
The vigilante seemed to pause for a moment, thinking, seeming to be in thought about what he should say. Spider-Man finally snorted. “Wuss. Can’t believe you cried.”
Lando snapped his head up to look at him. “Rude! You’re meant to be my saviour and here you are insulting me!”
“I’m your saviour, yes, which means I can make fun of you, mate.” Spiderman chuckled, a playful tone etched into the words. “I mean, what kinda idiot stands on the edge of an eight storey building and doesn’t expect to fall?”
“An intoxicated idiot would.”
“Yes, an intoxicated idiot would do that.”
Silence overtakes them, both staring at each other before Lando bursts out laughing, throwing his head back as he takes in the situation. He never expected to come to a Christmas party, lose Oscar, fall off the roof, be saved by Spiderman and then be by a hero (which Lando is sure is a way to cheer him up… he hopes).
Wait.
He lost Oscar.
“Shit!” Lando shouted, patting around his pockets for his phone before realising it was gone. He looked around on the floor before seeing his phone stuck to the ground with webs. Pulling himself up from the bench, legs still shaky, he pulled the webs off his phone (a bit gross) only to see that the screen was smashed into smithereens. He turned to Spiderman, who was scratching his neck and refusing to meet his eyes. “So… my phone?”
“Listen, you try to save a human and a phone at the same time!”
“I’ve watched you on the news hold together a boat sawed in half, but saving my phone is the one thing you can’t do?”
“I mean I was a bit more focused on saving you, but yeah sure, next time I’ll make sure your phone lives instead.”
Lando frowns at his phone before turning back to Spiderman. “I need to message my friend, Oscar.” He mumbled, a sort of endearing tone coating his friend's name. “God knows where he is, for all I know he was on the roof and saw that!”
Spiderman seems to freeze for a second before quickly regaining his composure, Lando too absorbed in his broken phone to notice. “I mean, your mate probably would’ve come out by now if he did! I’m sure he’s fine, you can tell him all about it later.” His head whipped around to the door, Lando assumed it was the ‘spidey senses’. “You’ve got some friends coming now, maybe he’s with them?”
“Lando!” Charles shouted out as he came running down the steps, throwing himself at the young Brit and gathering him in a hug. “You are so stupid! Why would you go to the roof? Mon dieu! You are very lucky you are not dead!” Alex came running forward too while Pierre and Max stayed back. George even seemed to be lingering in the doorway, keeping an eye on things.
“Dude, don’t ever do another dare again. You scared the shit out of us, I really thought we’d lost you for a second!” Alex exclaimed, a look of relief washing over his face once he saw Lando was alright.
“I may be safe.. but there was one casualty.” Lando carried out dramatically. “My phone.”
Silence came over them before he could hear Max say, “you are such a dumbass, someone take him home.”
“I’ll take him home, he’s clearly still wasted.” All eyes turned to the suited hero after everyone completely forgot he was there.
“Spiderman!” Charles screeched. “I am a very big fan of yours! Please, can you sign something for me?” He begged him. Max behind him seemed to groan and bury his head in his hands. Even Pierre grimaced at the reaction of Charles meeting the hero. Both parties were embarrassed to be watching him.
“Uhhh… maybe another time? I’m gonna make sure your friend gets home. Lando? Do you want me to take you home?”
Lando weakly nodded, suddenly feeling exhaustion overcome him. It seemed his body was in between a state of fear and adrenaline, rolling between the two every minute or so. Yeah… he should really get home. Spiderman approached him, bending down to reach under his knees and pull them up, carrying him in his arms. Lando instinctively wrapped his hands around his neck, ignoring the way a blush creeped its way up his neck and his face. He quickly said bye to his friends (purposely ignoring their shit eating grins and their wolf whistles) before Spiderman shot a web from a gadget on his wrist and went swinging into the winter night.
And when he was in Spiderman’s arms, swinging through the city with his eyes darting around the views (sometimes closing them before he could have motion sickness and throw up all over Spiderman, wouldn’t be the ideal situation), he felt himself growing more and more tired. The city buzzed around them, the Christmas lights flickering and the sound of carollers came through every so often until they reached Lando’s place. It was beautiful, to witness it the way the hero does, to soar through the city and experience everything all at once. He felt a thrill go through him.
Spiderman dropped him outside his building, ready to rush off before Lando rushed forward and gave him a hug, not even thinking about it before his body told him to do it. “Thank you, truly. Fuck you for my phone but thank you for saving my life.”
Spiderman chuckled, slowly returning the hug. It was sweet but short, enough to satisfy this new feeling of admiration he had. “It’s just part of my job description. Hopefully, I won’t have to see you again. Remember, stay off those roofs!” Lando let him go, not wanting to take up anymore of his time. He swung off into the night sky, leaving behind the young British boy. He looked at the street around him, people had been watching him interact with Spiderman. Lando looked back to where Spiderman had swung off to, and noticed something very, very big and potentially very juicy. Lando couldn’t help but stare and ogle.
Nice ass, Spidey. Lando grinned to himself. He may have found his new obsession.
He had been home for half an hour before Oscar came in through the door, seeing Lando wrapped up in a blanket. Lando had gushed to him for a solid hour about how amazing Spiderman was, how he fell from the roof and his life was saved, that he would’ve been like flat Stanley if it had been just a minute earlier. Oscar made him tea, gave him some snacks and made him shower, finally letting him go to bed once Lando reassured him that he was okay because Spiderman had been there to save him. Lando, so caught up in the thrill of being saved, forgot to even ask where Oscar had been at the party.
It wasn’t until he was in bed, tucked away and reminiscing on his encounter with Spiderman that he realised he never told him where he actually lived.
And when a brand-new phone had arrived to his flat with a ribbon on it and a note saying ‘I wasted my webs trying to save it and still failed, so here’s a new one to make up for it, merry Christmas’, it didn’t occur to him until years later that Spiderman also shouldn’t have known what his flat number was.