Title: Table for Two
Author: Jenn
Summary: Movieverse Post SM3.John Jameson and Gwen Stacy, two people who would most likely never have met. It's not quite love at first sight either…
Rating: PG (K+)
Spoilers: Post Spider-Man 3, spoilers will be from the SM2, and some for SM3. This story will sort of tie in with my fic Look Through My Eyes, a SM/DD crossover.
Timeline: Christmastime. Some months after SM3 has ended.
Category: GeneralRomance
Dedicated: I am dedicating this story to htbthomas, this idea; more on how it got started was hers. Thanks so much for letting me write this even though you wanted to do something like it. And this is also partly GK's fault too; she wanted me to do a fic on John Jameson after I did one on Richard White for Superman Returns.
Disclaimers: They're not mine. Stan Lee and Marvel own them. Anyone else not recognizable is mine. Not making one penny for this story. This fic is just for enjoyment.
Thoughts are in italics.
The aroma of coffee beans reached John Jameson's nose. Which was fine with him, he wanted a cup of coffee. Quite badly in fact.
Starbucks was packed with people though, most who were college students from Columbia, cramming for finals before Christmas break.
Hopefully there will be a table free when I get my java, he thought as he stepped in the long line to wait.
And maybe a pastry of some kind, John thought as his stomach growled. He could cheat a little - it wasn't like he was going back up into space any time soon.
Actually, he had just gotten home from being up in space for a week, just orbiting Earth to check a few of the satellites. It had been a simple routine check.
The line moved at a snail's pace… or more like a total standstill. He should have gotten a newspaper to read, but if he left the line now, he would be forced to go all the way to the end. He wasn't about to get into a fight to demand his place back in line.
Finally he was up front, and the girl behind the counter looked like she was ready to pull her hair out of her messy ponytail. "What can I get you?" Her tone was abrupt, but he let that pass.
"Regular coffee, black, and a cherry turnover."
The girl told him the amount and said his order would be done in a few minutes. John was barely out of the line when she asked for the next order.
He got his turnover and coffee in short order. As John turned to look for a table, he was surprised to see that the café seemed to be packed with even more people. He had hoped to sit and eat his turnover at least before leaving with the remainder of his coffee.
No one looked like they were going to be leaving any time soon. He even saw some people with empty plates and no doubt empty drinks just sitting and talking. Can't they see how full the café is…?
But then, he found an empty table. No, not empty exactly, there was a young blonde woman sitting there alone. Not even stopping to think over his actions, he headed to the table.
"Excuse me, miss?" He waited for the blonde to look up from reading her newspaper. Up close he could see that her hair was a natural light blonde, which would put any bleach-dyed hair to shame.
"Yes?"
He met her blue eyes with his own. With as much charm he could muster, still being polite and friendly, John asked, "Could I sit at this table?" He waved an arm around, "There's no other seat in this place."
She looked around and saw in fact the café was completely full, and there still was a line waiting at the front counter.
"Sure." But it sounded hesitant, and John wondered why. He decided it was best not to question her.
"Thanks," he smiled and sat down.
She gave a diffident smile in return. "I'm Gwen Stacy."
"John Jameson." He held his hand out for her to shake, which she did. He felt something pass between them, something he hadn't felt since Mary Jane…
That brought to mind her current boyfriend, Peter Parker. Both of them had been splashed across the tabloids following their friend, Harry Osborn's passing. The entire city knew that he fought against Sandman and Venom, the name his father proudly used for the man who had been in a black costume similar to Spider-Man's short-lived style.
It was Mary Jane's friendship with Osborn that had gotten her into the papers. The police had found her with his dead body, where they discovered Osborn had been the one who fought with Spider-Man, who had, as his father loved to quote, 'fled the scene'. That, of course, had led to questions in the papers if she possessed knowledge of who Spider-Man was, considering her kidnapping quota.
"Jameson? You're not related to Jonah J. Jameson, are you?"
John thought he might be hearing some accusation in Gwen's tone. Glancing down then looking back at her, "You could say so. But I see you're reading the Daily Bugle."
"What a way to answer a question!" Gwen's eyes narrowed slightly. "I don't know if you noticed… but that there was no other paper - it was the last copy of anything."
John could tell she wasn't pleased with that fact. So he said instead, "To answer you, yes, I'm related to Jameson – he's my father."
"That's all I wanted to know." With that she pointedly and went back to reading, he supposed, the hated paper.
John ate his turnover in silence, at least as much as he could get with the coffee shop crowded as it was. His companion didn't looked back up at him even once while she read.
He still had an over half of his cup of coffee left to drink. And honestly, even though he had only met Gwen ten minutes ago, he didn't want to leave her with a bad impression of him… He could thank his father for that.
When the couple at the table next to them got up to leave, John was about to move so Gwen could have the table to herself. He wasn't going to just leave. But even after glancing back at the long line, he knew it would be better to let someone else have the table.
It wasn't left deserted for long, almost as soon as he thought that, a group of women took it. One of them pushed a newspaper off to make room for her tray. She didn't move to get it. It rolled a bit towards him, almost tempting him to pick it up, which he did.
Even if it was his father's paper, anything was better then the silence. Surprisingly it was the New York Post.
"Miss Stacy." He waited until he got her attention. "Considering you've seemed to judge me based on my father, I hope I can make an offer."
Gwen's face softened from the look she had sent him when she had looked up. "And what is your offer, Mr. Jameson?"
"We could share this paper. It's the Post." John held it up.
"Alright," Gwen agreed with only a minor pause.
Before John handed her the local section, he said, "I hope we can at least be civil." He wanted to talk to her, but he wasn't going to push it - maybe after they read some articles they could discuss them.
"I'm sorry," Gwen sighed. She seemed to ponder on what to say next. "Your father doesn't always put things in a positive light."
That got his attention. "Like what?"
"I don't mean to be judgmental, but your dad doesn't seem to put too many nice or positive things in the paper, or at least the front page."
Of course, John could have easily defended his father, but what she said was true. But he asked anyway, "Like?"
"Like Spider-Man." Her expression as well as her voice was disapproving. "He's done nothing but help the city. The lives-"
"Hey," John held up his hand interrupting her. "I've got nothing against Spider-Man. I don't know why Dad writes what he does about him. Honest." He gave her the Post section as an offering.
"That's a relief," she said with a smile as she took it from him.
Nothing more was said on that subject.
But as John read the front-page news, his mind was pondering what she had briefly said. To be blunt, the woman sitting across from him fascinated him.
He snuck a glance at her. Her blonde head was bent down, focusing on the article she was reading. Well, at the very least, he wanted to get to know her better.
John hadn't gotten back to reading his own section when he heard a soft gasp. As he glanced back up, he saw Gwen's shocked expression as she stared wide-eyed at the page in front of her.
Notes: Like I said in the header, this is some months after SM3, and also during my fic, Look Through My Eyes, I haven't written much to that one so it may spoil slightly for it (like future chapters) if you're reading that one too. I'll try to make sure I'll explain times or at least explain them in the fics so it's understandable.
Also again, the pairing of John/Gwen was solely htbthomas' idea, the fic is just mine. Again thanks for letting me use the idea Barb!
Thanks for reading, please comment. Jenn