Peter sat on the balcony listening to the recorded voice of Mary Jane in his ear, "Ok Pete, so functionalism is the social structure of society as a whole and in terms of the necessary function of its... let me try another way cause I don't even get that. So, a common way to describe it that I've seen is to picture norms and institutions as 'organs' that work toward the proper-functioning of the entire 'body' of society. Now I'm going to wait a minute and see if you can guess who came up with that, and no it's not Emile from Halo or whatever."
His mind raced to come up with the answer even though she wasn't here, "...Herbert Spencer. Think of ice cream, Herbert rhymes with sherbert." They said at the same time, how often did he listen to this thing?
The man standing beside him shifted and turned his head vaguely in his direction sounding politely amused, "What about ice cream?"
He was embarrassed to have apparently been caught saying that aloud, moving to pause the recording. "Sorry, my sociology midterm is tomorrow and I'm studying for it."
Peter thought it was absolutely ridiculous Empire State University required you to have a sociology credit for a degree in physics. What did it matter if Karl Marx or Robert Merton started conflict theory to a physicist? It wasn't like he was going to ask those "dead white guys," as his sociology teacher Dr. Barton called them, for advice on how to split an atom or make his webshooter more efficient. He might have dropped out of the whole program just because he thought it was just a way for the university to get more money out of him that he just didn't have, if it wasn't for MJ. She knew how important it was to him to get to work with Dr. Otto Octavius at the end of graduation and so, she took the sociology class with him just so she could help him study. What would he do without her?
The two of them had met three years earlier through mutual friend Harry Osborn at Mick's diner. Peter felt bad about talking so much since it was a first date for the two of them. Harry didn't say anything about it until long after MJ broke up with him over something to do with Norman, Harry's father. He would never tell Harry this but, from the moment Peter saw her he had a crush on her the size of the Hulk when he was angry. Who wouldn't fall for those gorgeous ocean blue eyes, or that long red hair that always seemed to perfectly frame her face no matter what time of day it was? It just didn't feel right because of Harry to ask her out on a date and so they had just remained friends. When he was practically failing US History because of the crime wave of 2015, MJ swooped in to the rescue tutoring him as best she could getting him up to a B+. He hadn't exactly made it easy for her and yet she stuck to him like stubborn bubble gum on a shoe, which he appreciated.
They might've been in the middle of a lesson about the Louisiana purchase and out of nowhere, he would have to make an excuse to leave if too many police cars drove by going in the same direction at top speed. It would be so much easier just to tell her that he was Spider Man and if people were in danger he was going to have to go save them but, Tony told him to keep that to himself. That telling the people you care about who you were under the mask only put them in danger and Tony sure did know from experience. Instead of just giving up on him though, no matter how outlandish his excuse to leave was, MJ just made these recordings for him to listen to. In exchange, Peter committed to meeting with her once a week in person so he could ask her questions and get her some food.
A chuckle came from 'Red,' as Peter called him, "It's alright, just wait till you get to law school. Anything going on down there yet?"
Peter glanced down at the abandoned alley where the meeting was supposed to take place, "No, but I'm sure you already knew that. Are you sure you aren't just pretending the whole 'I can't see thing?'"
Red smirked under the cowl turning back towards the alley, "I was just making sure you were paying attention and not day dreaming about food."
He chuckled to himself watching for movement below them, "Oh come on now, no stakeout is complete without at least one mention of junk food. It's like the law."
Red folded his arms over his chest listening for any movement in the alley, "I don't remember anything about that in the textbooks I've read. Maybe it's a new edition type thing."
The "Devil of Hell's Kitchen" or Daredevil wasn't a bad guy once you got to know him. Peter had been following some of Wilson Fisk's men into a warehouse when he met Daredevil and they worked together to take them down. Initially, Red hadn't wanted any help in trying to catch Fisk in a drug dealing scheme but, they kept running into each other following the same leads so it was pointless to ignore each other. Plus, working with the friendly neighborhood Spider Man helped his reputation which wasn't the best right now. And from Peter's perspective, working with someone else lowered the risk of getting ganged up on by New York's entire criminal element. It was a win-win for everyone involved. Tonight was their biggest lead yet, all they had to do was catch Fisk attempting to make a deal with the Triad and then stop it. The waiting game was the worst part, not knowing if either group had changed their minds or just felt like tonight wasn't their night.
Peter filled the silence not wanting it to be uncomfortable, "You know you could get actual armor right? I mean, I like the casual superhero look but, it won't save you from bullets."
Daredevil scoffed with a friendly yet sarcastic tone, "Your wearing spandex, I don't know if getting attire advice from you is the best idea."
He pretended to sound offended, "You can't see it but, this costume actually looks cool you know. I also have actual superhero strength so I don't have to worry about bullets as much."
Daredevil was going to answer when two cars coming from either end of the alley met in the center. Despite the seriousness of the situation, it was extremely hard not to feel giddy at the prospect of taking down Fisk once and for all. Maybe Spider Man could take a much needed vacation to actually study for tests if Fisk was behind bars for more than a day. He watched intently as one of the Triad's goons marched across the alley to step in front of Fisk's car. Come on, all he needed to do was open the window and show off his bald head. It was so easy, all he had to do was press a button so he would be able to see him, then they could jump into action!
Red tilted his head to try and listen for a conversation, "What's going on down there?"
Peter tried not to get annoyed by the question, he was dealing with a blind guy after all, "One of the Triad guys is standing in front of Fisk's car but nothing is happening. You don't think they can talk telepathically now do you?"
Red was in full serious mode not laughing along to the joke, "Are you sure it's just a man outside the cars? I'm smelling some pretty strong perfume close by."
Peter took a closer look, zooming in with his eye lenses, "Yeah it's a guy. Probably just a lady walking down the street you p...erv..."
Oh no, no, no, this couldn't be happening. When he let his gaze sweep around the surrounding alley looking for who might have perfume on, he saw her. What on Earth was Mary Jane Watson doing here in the middle of the night, hiding behind a trash can, and holding a camera aimed at the meeting. He knew she got a job at the Daily Bugle because she wouldn't stop complaining about her boss "triple J." The newspaper itself was mostly obsessed with covering him but, it wasn't like he left neon signs on near wherever he went like a beacon. And MJ had personally said she wanted to cover more serious subjects that deserved to be investigated. Well Peter, you just answered your own question, she was here for the same reason you were. Maybe it was time to encourage her to take another line of work so they quit running into each other. Regardless, right now he had to figure out a way to get her out of here without gaining the attention of Fisk or the Triad.
The sound of another car door closing made his head whip around to see Fisk himself was out of the car, "It's good to see you old friend. We have much to discu-"
A bright flash of light cut him off and MJ ducked as fast as she could. Even from here he could hear her hiss, "Shit."
Fisk stared down the alley with a frown, "Find whoever did that and bring them to me."
Daredevil sighed getting ready to jump off the balcony, "You save the girl, I'll follow Fisk as much as I can."
Peter didn't have to be told twice using his webshooters to attach her to the wall high above the trash can before quickly landing where she had been, ignoring the shout of surprise MJ made. "Come on guys, let's not break up this lovely reunion on my account." He held up the camera he unfortunately took from her so all of their attention would be on him, "I was just getting a picture for the scrapbook I'm putting together."
Fisk growled in rage, "Smash the bug to a fine paste, then we can talk."
Daredevil landed on the top of Fisk's car ready to fight, "I don't think your going to be talking to anyone soon."
The next few minutes were a blur of instinct for Peter as the rest of the Triad rushed out of their car. After years of fighting goons it started to become a dance to him instead of something dangerous. His spider senses allowed him to dodge out of the way just as he sent punches and kicks of his own at them. He was generally stronger than ninety nine percent of goons but, those that worked for the Triad were just a little faster than him. Whenever he sent a punch for a ear drum, half would duck and try to trip him off his feet. A member of Fisk's squad grabbed him from behind only for Daredevil to toss one of his baton things at the guys head. With Fisk starting to drive away, it was understandable but unfortunate that Daredevil abandoned him to chase after the car.
Peter waved with a free hand to the car speeding away, "See you later Red, I'll be sure to give you your thingy back next time I see you."
The fight finally ended when he trapped the driver of the Triad's car with the last of his immediate web supply against the trunk of the car. Looking over himself, Peter was glad to see he didn't have any cuts. He still had it where it counted. Now, what was he going to do with MJ? Bring her down off the wall obviously but, what next? It was unfortunately not the first time she had met this side of him and he didn't want it to become a pattern. The first time he had to rescue her was on a high school field trip gone wrong when the substitute teacher turned into a giant lizard. Another time he had to catch her and several others in the class from falling out of the high school clock tower during a fire. Who was he kidding, this was already a pattern between the two of them. The only difference this time was that she initiated the rescue.
He took a deep breath to prepare himself for the conversation before starting to crawl up the wall towards her, "Ma'am I just need you to stay calm while I get you down from there."
MJ had an irritated look on her face, "You know, with all the times we've run into each other, I'm beginning to think your a stalker or just crazy. Who calls the devil of Hell's Kitchen 'red?'"
Peter had a casual tone as he started freeing her hand from his web, "He's a nice guy when he's not you know...killing people. Am I really all that different?"
She didn't even hesitate before answering, "Yes you are, you work mostly in the day time saving cats and balloons. I don't think I have to tell you what he's like."
Peter took an upbeat tone to change the subject, "I see someone reads about my work. Grab my shoulders so I can bring you down safely please."
It was hard to concentrate when she wrapped all her slender limbs around him, get your head out of the gutter Peter. Her voice brought him back to reality, "Is my camera ok? I think I got them both shaking hands."
Peter slowly brought her down to the ground with a crawl, "I kinda hope the flash feature got destroyed for convenience sake but I think it's fine."
MJ giggled ever so softly before turning her head towards his, they were so close, "I think you might like people putting themselves in harms way just so you can save them. I mean why else would you keep doing this for years on end when the Avengers are so close by?"
Peter felt just a tad warmer than before with their faces so close together, "They're the Avengers. They like dealing with Loki and Thanos or whoever else, someone has to look out for the little guy..and gal sorry it's just a phrase. I didn't mean anything by it and..."
He was babbling now nervous because she was so close and he felt like he said the wrong thing. What if she found out who he was from the way he was talking? It was a really bad habit that he needed to get rid of when her hand was reaching for the bottom edge of his mask. What was happening? Should he say something? Let her go or let her do whatever she was about to do? In his long moment of indecision, she pushed the mask up to his nose and gently pecked his lips with her own. He was amazed by just how soft and smooth her lips were. Peter wanted to return the kiss with the same amount of urgency he had to drink water when he was thirsty, in the end he held himself back though. They may have broken up a long time ago but, Peter still wouldn't stab his friend in the back like that.
MJ gave him a beautiful smile and her tone was a little airy, "That has to be the most humble thing I think I've ever heard a superhero say."
Peter was breathing heavily wanting so badly to just lean forward and kiss her again, "I'd imagine you haven't talked to very many superheroes then because we really aren't a very narcisstic bunch. Iron Man can be I guess but I don't know if you can bla-"
She cut him off with yet another kiss and this time it wasn't just a brushing of lips. Harry would never know if it was just this once in the middle of the night right? She wouldn't even know really besides the fact that she kissed Spider Man. It was getting intense rather quickly with their lips pushing each other apart so that they could get to the others tongue. His eyes drooped closed from the pleasure of tasting her tongue for the first time. The cinnamon flavor overwhelmed him and he wrapped his arms around her to pull her closer to his body. One kiss was quickly becoming two and then three in quick succession with only little breaths between the increasingly sloppy kisses. What was he doing?! He had to stop no matter how wonderful the experience was for Harry's sake. He wasn't even noticing the way her hand was cupping his cheek and unintentionally pushing the mask up to get to his hair.
It felt like an absolute eternity by the time she broke the kiss, "That's for all the times you've saved everyone without wanting anything in return. Can I have my..oh my god P.. Peter?!"
He opened his eyes and realized his mask was in her hand. MJ was better than to intentionally do that, his identity was in the open now though. What was she thinking right now? Had he taken advantage of the situation just so he could kiss her once? The thought made him feel disgusted with himself and they recoiled from each other as fast as possible. Would she tell Harry about what happened? Would she even speak to him again after the kiss? Peter wouldn't have blamed her if she didn't want to at this point. All of those questions were essentially ignoring the elephant in the room, he had kissed MJ and had loved every second of it. How was he possibly going to forget what those smooth lips felt like?
She rubbed the back of her neck appearing just as embarrassed as he looked, "I guess I should've known you weren't going home to feed an imaginary dog you never owned every time we scheduled a session..."
Peter wished he knew what the right thing to say was right now but was drawing a blank, "MJ I...I'm sorry I never said anything I just wanted to keep you and Harry safe. I don't know what just happened but I-"
Mary held up a hand to stop him, "I kissed you so stop apologizing..here's your mask back and you can give me back my camera."
His voice was stammering as he did what she asked, "Do you need a ride home or something..? I can web you there fast."
Her expression was frustratingly impossible to read, "No I'll just get a cab I guess. I'm guessing you need to call this in.." She started to leave before turning back around, "Listen Pete, I still want to see you tomorrow at Mick's for the test debrief ok? Nothings changed between us...alright?"
So she was taking the lets just forget about this route. Ok, he could go with that he decided as he put the mask back on with a nod, "You stay out of trouble until then ma'am. No offense but getting on a first name basis with a superhero is usually a bad idea."
MJ tried to smile at him, "No promises.. And remember Pete, Herbert like sherbert."
She disappeared around the corner and he grabbed his phone, the night was still young. "Hey uhh Yuri? It's Spider cop and I need you to get to my coordinates, you'll never guess who I ran into tonight..."