Fast Break
Synopsis:
Peter Parker had lost his spider powers after a devastating event that brought him and MJ closer together. Upon hanging his webbed suit, Peter decided to pursue the career he'd always wanted to try before becoming Spider-Man: He became an NBA player. What will this mean for his relationship with MJ, however? Is basketball worth losing her over for?
A/N - I will be alternating between MJ and Peter's point of view. You can decide whether the MJ in this story is the original one or the MCU one. Enjoy :)
Also, I don't own Spider-Man, but you already knew that.
Chapter 1:
MJ's POV
MJ sat alone on the hotel bed again, waiting for her husband to come back home from work. His work, of course, consisted of working out, practicing, and drinking with his teammates to "build a healthy team relationship". The New York Knicks team were a good bunch. They welcomed Peter with open arms when he got drafted and most of them treated MJ with respect. MJ couldn't return the favour, and only she knew why: she was jealous of them.
She knew how stupid and selfish this must have looked like, but she had been very jealous of basketball ever since Peter joined the league. It had taken up more of his time than what his Spider-Man persona had. They've been growing more distant ever since, but it became worse once the finals came up. They were flown to Los Angeles three weeks ago for the Knicks to face off against the Lakers for the 2019 NBA Finals championship, and Peter had never been more dedicated to his work.
It was scary to MJ, seeing Peter take this game more seriously than she remembered him doing when he went up against numerous psychopathic villains in New York. The only time she saw him with as much concentration was when MJ got kidnapped by the Green Goblin and he was forced to decide whether to save her or keep his spider powers.
MJ whimpered as a shiny, long green sword pressed against her neck. She could feel the blood trickling down from the shallow cut that had been sliced open from her struggling. In front of her, Peter was shaking in fury, gun pointed at the person behind her holding her tight, Harry Osborne.
"Drop the gun, Pete, " cackled the Green Goblin, "I know you're too much of a pussy to shoot that anyway."
"Let her go, Harry," Peter's voice was loud and desperate, "Leave her out of this."
"Or what, Pete? You're gonna kill me too? Just like you killed my father?"
"I did not kill him, Harry!" Peter's voice rose, "but I'm this close to killing you if you don't let her go!"
"You're confusing me. One day you say you would never take a life, the next you point a gun at me?" Harry didn't sound like the friend she and Peter knew during high school. "Have some integrity, Spider. At least, for me, you already know how much pleasure I would take from killing this bitch of yours—"
Harry's speech was cut off by a loud bang, and the sword pressed against MJ's neck became loose as Harry's body collapsed behind her.
Peter dropped the gun and dragged himself over to the Green Goblin's dead body. A few weeks ago, Peter had urged MJ that the Harry they knew was still in there, trapped behind the Green Goblin that possessed him. Now, MJ wasn't sure if even Peter believed that anymore.
Peter took Harry's mask off and closed his best friend's right eye. Harry's left eye was now nothing but a crater of blood and shrapnel from the bullet Peter shot just a few moments ago. MJ shivered at the sight, her heart wilting at the sight her old friend, broken and lifeless. Peter averted his eyes away from his fallen friend and turned to MJ with a face clouded with deep sorrow and guilt. He fell to his knees.
"MJ, I can't stand."
MJ lowered herself to bring Peter to her arms, his body seemingly limp. "Are you okay, Pete?"
"I think I'm losing my powers," Peter cried, "I killed him, MJ. I killed my friend."
"No. You didn't kill Harry. He'd been gone a long time ago." They both silently cried in each other's arms for a while, and MJ couldn't help but blame herself for Peter losing his powers. With a croak, MJ broke the long silence and said, "I'm sorry Peter. If I just ran like you told me to, you wouldn't have had to kill him and—you'd still have your—your powers."
"It's not your fault. I would have killed him many more times if it meant saving you. You mean the world to me, MJ, and not having powers is nothing compared to not having you."
That was over two years ago. Now, it wasn't her who Peter was devoted to, it was the ball. This is ridiculous. People change, and so does love. MJ understood that now, and she knew she had to move on if she wanted both of them to be happy.
Peter got the gun from a dead police officer whom Harry killed a few moments before the standoff.
A/N - This story is inspired by a Harry Potter fanfic I read a long time ago. I can't seem to find the name so if you recognize it, please tell me because it was a really good read.
Chapters will get longer eventually. I just want the first ones to be short and straight to the point so that we can get right to the story. Please review so that I can see that you guys want more. I'm halfway done the second chapter, which is in Peter's point of view :)