Chapter Text
You were no stranger to the American Museum of Natural History. It was your favorite place to go “shopping.” And you had your eye on Cosmic Splendor for a while now. A new exhibit opened last spring, on floor one, the Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, located in the Meister Gallery. You loved shiny objects, and boy did this exhibit house them. Over sixty different pieces of astronomically inspired jewelry, courtesy of Van Cleef and Arpels. They had rubies, sapphires, diamonds, and gold. Pocket watches, pendants, spirals, clips, necklaces. But what really caught your eye was a special watch. The Midnight Planetarium watch, composed of pink gold, agate, sugilite, turquoise, serpentine, chloromelanite, and jasper. Dating back to 1951. Leather band, golden frame, a miniature sun dial, and five planets, all which move on its own disc according to the real life rotation time. Priced starting at $300,000. You liked it, and you wanted it, and you sure as hell were bent on taking it. You just had to wait for the right time.
Notoriously known as “Black Cat,” you were a successful burglar in New York City. Anything bright and shiny that caught your eye you desperately needed to have, and you were a girl with expensive taste. You learned from your father, a cat burglar himself, who taught you nearly everything you knew. You grew up in Queens and spent your teenage years stealing from bodegas and street markets before graduating to art shows, auctions, and museums. Your luxury high rise condo was filled with your treasures, priceless paintings and expensive jewels. You had every right to be cocky, considering you’ve never been caught. Well, that was until you met Spider-Man.
Everything was going according to plan, you had the display case open, you were ready to snatch the watch when you felt something sticky on your hand, attaching you to the podium. “What the fuck?” you wondered breathlessly, until you looked up, and hanging upside down from a spider web was a guy in a red and blue spandex suit. You couldn’t say anything, considering you yourself were wearing a black leather bodycon suit with faux fur. But he had big white bug eyes and was upside down, which made him look kind of goofy.
“I have a feeling you didn’t pay admission,” the stranger joked and you narrowed your eyes, unamused.
“Unhand me,” you demanded, still trying to unstick your arm from the podium.
“No can do,” he shook his head, releasing himself from the web and falling to the ground. The eyes on his mask widened and you heard him gasp a little bit. “Woah.”
“Woah what?” you sneered, annoyed.
“You’re just uh, well um…” he scratched the back of his head, standing there awkwardly. His voice got super quiet. “You’re really hot.”
You couldn’t help but smirk, raising an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”
He didn’t have to tell you this. You knew you were hot. Long white hair, mysterious eye mask, leather bodysuit, fluffy white faux fur, long cat like nails, and a curvy sexy body, you were a bombshell through and through. “No, no, I’m supposed to be arresting you,” he shook his head once again, trying to come to his senses. “Criminal.”
“Who even are you?” you sighed, blowing a stray strand of hair out of your face.
“Me? I’m Spider-Man,” he crossed his arms over his chest. “Who are you?”
“The name’s Black Cat baby,” you grinned. “Nice to meet you Spider-Boy.”
“Spider-Man,” he corrected. “And I wish we were meeting under different circumstances. Because you are… something else.”
“Uh huh,” you drew out slowly.
WIthout warning, he shot another web from his hand and plastered your other hand to the podium, and you groaned, officially angry. “Seriously?” you seethed.
“The police will be on their way soon,” he saluted, thwipping up another web towards the ceiling. “Don’t make me web you again!” He slowly levitated up from the floor and you scowled, thoroughly annoyed.
“Fuck you, Spider-Man!” you shouted.
“Fuck me? Don’t mind if you do,” he teased, climbing out through a window and leaving you alone.
You could not get caught by the police. You closed your eyes tight, trying to think of a way out of this sticky situation. You concentrated, focusing until your nails unsheathed themselves, slicing through the webbing. “Aha!” you grinned, pulling down hard and cutting yourself out from the sticky material. You swiftly picked up the coveted watch, triggering the alarm system, and running out the side exit. Adrenaline rushed through your veins as you ran, laughing maniacally, proud of yourself for your great escape. You heard police sirens in the distance and you ducked into an alleyway, jumping onto a trash bin, grabbing onto a fire escape, and climbing up the side of a building. Once you made it to the roof, you caught your breath, still laughing from the adrenaline high, peeking over the edge and watching as police surrounded the museum.
Suckers. You took a moment to admire the watch you had stolen, tracing your fingers over the eighteen karat rose gold frame, noticing all the little details. So worth it. You made your way back to your apartment, sliding up the window and crawling in, remembering the way that spider guy did the exact same thing in the museum. You were itching to find out who this person was. Opening up your laptop on your bed, you googled “Spider-Man NYC.” Several news articles and YouTube videos instantly popped up on your screen, adding to your fascination. Apparently he was a rookie vigilante, someone who didn’t work for the police, but helped them nonetheless. There was footage of this guy stopping buses with his bare hands, swinging around the city doing backflips, helping old women cross the street, and taking selfies with teenagers. You grumbled, still annoyed he had foiled your original plans, and clicked off the websites. Hopefully that was the last you’ve seen of Spider-Man.