Ultimate Spider-man is owned by Marvel and I make no profit off this work.
A little Valentine's Day fanfiction for you all.
Bitter Chocolate.
By Slayzer
Sam Alexander was walking back from school alone when his cell phone rang. It was a call from May Parker.
'I wounder if May want's to reschedule our white water rafting trip next month.' Sam thought to himself as he answered is phone.
"Sam! Oh thank god your there!" May sounded panicked and desperate.
"What's wrong!?" Sam asked a senses of fear entering his heart.
"I need your help, you have to get over here right away." a loud crash and the sounds of something breaking cut May's voice off for a moment. "Hurry!"
Then the line went dead.
Sam ducked down an empty alleyway and put on his helmet. A second later Sam Alexander was gone and Nova the human rocket blasted off towards Queens.
-Parker House-
Sam almost knocked the door off it's hinges as he came in. "MAY!"
May Parker was siting alone in the living room and almost in tears. "Oh Sam thank you. Please you have to help!"
"Don't worry, I'm here. What is this all about?"
May just pointed to the kitchen unable to verbalize the horrors she had seen.
Sam opened the door to the kitchen and his eyes went wide with sock and disgusted.
"Dear God, what have you done Peter?"
Peter groaned miserably as things just got more troublesome for him. "You and May are making this into way too big of a deal."
There was not one clean inch of kitchen spcae left. Everywhere there was flour, sugar and mixing bowls with crusted stuff caked on. On the stove four pots burn and boiled-over.
"And just what is this?" Sam asked as he poked around some of Peter's ingredients.
Peter looked around the catastrophe that May's spotless kitchen had become and shrugged. "I'm just doing a little baking."
"Peter this is not baking by any means of the word, you need help?"
Peter rejected Sam's offer immediately. "I don't need or want help. I'll have you know I have a collage graduate's level understanding of chemistry. So something as simple as home-ec won't even be a problem for me."
Sam finished picking through the mess of ingredients and deduce not only what it was that Peter was trying to make but who it was for as well. "Unless your plan is to give Ava food poising with your homemade Valentine's Day chocolate, then you'll need my help."
Peter face blushed red. "That's a completely baseless accusation!"
"But you are trying to make chocolate?"
"Yeah, so what. Doesn't mean it's for Ava. Besides I know for a fact that Ava hate's sweet things."
Sam smiled as he got to the 'Aha' moment of his deduction and pulled out the bag of dark chocolate that Peter was using. "Your right about Ava not liking the overly sweet milk chocolate but the chocolate your using is far less sweet and has more of a bitter taste to it. Not everyone would appreciate that taste but I'm sure Ava will like it."
Peter threw his hands in the air and gave up. "Fine so I'm making Valentine's Day chocolate for Ava. You can laugh and ridicule me all you want."
"I know I bust your chops a lot for some laughs but I'd never make fun of you for this. In fact I'm happy that your doing something about it and ending all the romantic tension between you and Ava."
"Are you saying the tension between me and Ava is noticeable?"
Sam gave Peter a slightly nervous smile. "Just a little bit."
-First Week of January on the Helicarrier-
Phil Coulson taped a pointer on the blackboard they set up in a meeting room. Also in the room other then Luke, Sam and Danny where members of the science staff as well as the bridge crew and several tactical teams. The blackboard was divided into rows and columns, one side was numbered 1-31 and the other side listed the months. At the top was the heading, "Spider/Tiger Betting Pool"
Phil cleared his throat before he began the meeting. "Just to be clear you are not just betting on what day Spider-man and White Tiger confesses to each other but on who confesses to who. Now who would like to start the betting."
Luke raised his hand. "I bet Tiger get's feed up with waiting in mid August and lays it all out for Spidey. $75 on August 18"
Danny made the next bet. "Love like a flower will blossom in the spring. Parker confesses to Ayala in early June. I bet $100 on June 7th"
And so the betting went around and around the room. You could bet on as may days as you wanted but holidays and on other special dates had a higher buy in limit.
The door opened and Nick Fury walked into the room. Even with one eye he took in what was happening with a single glance. "Your all a bunch of fools."
Fury walked over to Coulson and took the chalk from him.
Fury then wrote his name and bet in for one the dates. "$1,000 dollars says Peter mans up for Valentine's Day and confesses to Ava."
Sam had to stifle a groan of disappointment. 'Would it have killed you to wait a few more weeks Peter? Your Valentine's Day plans are costing me a financial windfall.' Sam had bet all of his money in March.
"So your really going to help me and not crack jokes at my expense?" Peter asked one last time.
"What are you talking about, I can do both at the same time without any problems. Besides this works for me too. I was going to make something sweet for my sweet anyway. First thing we have to do is clean up, good food comes from a clean kitchen"
"Your sweet?" Peter asked as he and Sam started cleaning the kitchen.
"Yeah, I was going make some home made chocolate for Mary Jane."
"You and M.J are dating."
Sam smiled. "Shockingly, it seems that funny and artistic people are easily drawn to one another."
It took almost the whole night but Sam somehow found the patients to coach the clueless Peter Parker thought candy making. Sam had long ago whipped up some sweet and elegant artisan chocolates for Mary Jane. With his limited cooking skills Peter had to settle for using a sheet of little heart shaped molds.
Some of the hearts didn't set right or had air bubbles in them but most of them looked good. Peter was a little worried about those but Sam reassure him that they would just show that he made them himself.
"If you gave Ava perfectly shaped chocolate she just might think you bought them at a store."
"Your sure about that?"
"They look fine and taste great. Ava will love them. Now just don't wimp out and not give them to her."
-The Next Day (Valentine's Day) at Midtown High-
For once school couldn't' have ended sooner for Ava Ayala.
Not for any physical or scholastic reasons but just because everyone was being so lovey-dovey. People who normality kept displays of affection out of sight were allowed to show off to the world. Didn't all these couples so in love with each other have any of thoughts or concerns for the still single among them.
Ava sighed and banged her head against her locker. No, she was overacting. It's not like the whole world was rubbing it in her face that she was single. It was just that seeing so many people in love reminded Ava that she was alone.
"Ava!" Mary Jane Watson said running over to her friend.
"Mary Jane." Ava said in a way of a polite greeting.
M.J slapped Ava on the back. "Would you please call me M.J like everyone else. I hate that my given name is also a slang for pot."
"Okay, okay. M.J it is then."
"Good, now where is everyone else in your little band?"
Ava tried not to pout but she couldn't help it. "It's Valentine's Day so Luke is with Jessica and Danny's with Gwen."
"You sound upset."
"I'm not upset but it's hard being single on Valentine's Day. Even that goon Flash is going out with Debra Whitman."
Just down the hall M.J and Ava could see Flash fawning over the cute brainy girl with round glasses and a long blond ponytail. How those two got together and stayed together is anyone's guess.
"Don't worry about them Ava. After all, we pathetic single girls will always stick together."
Ava smiled despite herself. "Right, single girls forever!"
Just then Sam and Peter came walking down the hallway. Mary Jane happily waived them over. "Fellow singletons over here!"
Peter counted the four of them off. "Wouldn't we be a quartet."
M.J shook her head. "Smart-Alec."
Sam reached into his backpack and pulled out a large heart shaped chocolate he made for Mary Jane. "M.J, here I want you to have this."
"Sam, their lovely." Mary Jane said taking the elegant and delicious homemade chocolates from Sam.
"I also have some art gallery ticks for tonight I was hoping you'd go with me and maybe some dinner afterward." Sam said unabashedly.
Mary Jane blushed and smiled back at Sam. "I love to go. Oh but maybe Ava and Peter would like too come along..."
Ava cut M.J off. "Don't worry about me and Peter. You and Sam go enjoy yourselves. Beside nothings more pathetic then being the third wheel on a date."
With that Sam and Mary Jane left to make plans for the rest of the night. Now that Peter was with Ava and no one else this was the perfect time to give her his Valentine's day treat.
But before Peter could say anything however Ava snorted in contempt. "Can you believe that? Just cause a boy gives a girl some candy he thinks she owes him and how lame is chocolate as a gift anyway. 'Here I hope you get fat' what that really says to a girl. This whole fake holiday is so aggravating, isn't it Parker?"
It took Peter's mind a moment to reset before he agreed with Ava. "Yeah, how lame of them to buy into all this hallmark stuff."
Ava nodded and grabbed her things from her locker. "Come on, some of us are going to have to look out for the city while everyone else is going out on dates."
"I'll be right behind you Ava. I just got to throw something in my locker and I'll meet you 'roof-side' in a half hour."
"See you then." Ava said to Peter as she walked away from him.
Peter waved goodbye and when he was sure Ava was gone he sighed heavily. 'What was I thinking.' Peter thought as he dug out a red bag with a pink ribbon that held the chocolates he made for Ava. White Tiger was his teammate and here he was risking that relationship and for what, the slim chance that someone like Ava could like someone like him.
Peter tossed the chocolates into his locker and slammed the door shut.
He felt like such a damn fool.
-Later that night on the New York rooftops-
White Tiger stopped her patrol from a moment and sat at the edge of a building.
Checking the time it was 11:40 and this lousy holiday would almost be over. In a matter of minutes another Valentine's Day would pass without Ava having a valentine. Another year where she didn't have anyone who love her. It hadn't always been this bad but after her father died this feeling of loneliness had been growing in her heart.
Ava was lonely even thought she was far from being alone. Her teammates had become her new family and one of them meant so much more to her.
'If only Peter would take that next step.' Ava thought to herself as she remember the rooftop after their fight with Kraven the Hunter.
'There's the well groomed White Tiger we all know and love...' Ava's heart skipped a beat when Peter said that. '...In a best-friend sort of way.' A nervous laugh was all Ava could do to hide the heartache she was feeling.
Ava didn't even know what possessed her hug Peter but he felt so good that she purred. What did Peter do? He pushed her away softly and said 'No need to get all mushy.'
Ava knew that that Peter would only ever see her as his teammate. Yet she was still carrying a torch for him. If only he was just...
"Is this roof ledge taken?" Spider-man asked before he sat down next to White Tiger.
White Tiger looked at her watch just so she wouldn't have to look at Spider-man. "11:52 just a few more minutes and this day will finally be over."
Spider-man pulled off his mask and Peter handed White Tiger a red bag with a pink ribbon on it. "Then I guess I still have enough time to give you this."
Ava pulled her White Tiger mask off and opened the bag of home made chocolates she just got from Peter.
"I wanted to give you this at school but it didn't feel like the right time. Now that time is running out it was now or never. And who knows when we'll get some time together when we're not being chased by deranged gym teachers or psychotic hunters."
Peter stopped rambling and watched Ava take a bit out of one of the chocolates. She smiled at the rich smooth bitter tastes with a slight hidden sweetness delighted her taste buds.
"I care about you Ava and not just as a teammate or a friend but as something deeper." Peter said with a firm voice. It was shocking to him that he actuality said those words to Ava but his heart couldn't take it anymore. Peter had to let Ava know how he feels about her, even if she rejected him.
Ava leaned over and kissed Peter on the cheek.
Ava then nuzzled her face into Peter's hair as his face ran several shades of red. "Took you along enough."
"...Sorry about that." Peter said as he turned his head to face Ava.
"Don't apologize Peter. Your worth the wait."
Peter and Ava then kissed each other.
-The End-
I always rush these holiday fanfictions right down to the wire. Not that it matters but I love bitter tasting dark chocolate so that's how I got the title.
If your a fan of the old 90's Spider-man or grew up with it like me. (old, good lord it is old isn't it and so am I) Then you might remember Flash Thompson dating Debra Whitman. Even in 'Spectacular Spider-man' Flash was dating a bookish type of girl toward the end.I just think Ultimate Spider-man would be a much better show if the characters challenged themselves and grew a little more.
Sadly I don't think the makers of the show care much of character development. I fear the show will always just be an reckless and immature Spider-man with his merry band of sidekicks along for the whacky misadventure.
Thank you for reading and please leave your thoughts and opinions in a review.