Disclaimer: Most characters within belong to Marvel Comics except for the crew and passengers of the cruise ship, they were created by myself.
Summary: To have some time to themselves and away from superheroing, Peter and Mary Jane go on a cruise. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned.
AN: As always, I would like to thank htbthomas for betaing this fic. Also, this story takes place before the events of Civil War.
Trouble on the High Seas
Welcome Aboard
Southern Florida
"This sure beats the weather back home, doesn't it, Tiger?" Mary Jane asked her husband as they drove to the docks.
"The warm sunny weather of Florida versus the cold, snowiness of New York…? there's no comparison," answered Peter as he gazed out the cab window watching the palm trees as they passed by. "Plus, it was nice to see Dr. Connors for a little bit."
"I think our visit with him and Billy was a good one."
Peter just nodded his head. Dr. Curt Connors and his son Billy had welcomed their visit. The last time they had seen each other was under different circumstances. When Martha, Curt's wife, had passed away from cancer they along with Aunt May made the trip down for the funeral. But since that time, they were in regular contact with each other. The good doctor made it up to New York for an occasional lecture and that's when he would be able to get together with Peter and Mary Jane.
Peter would have liked to have stayed with the Connors' for a bit longer but there was another reason why he and Mary Jane had made the trek to Florida.
"You got the tickets, MJ?" Peter asked.
Mary Jane dug through her bag and seconds later pulled them out. "Yep, they're right here."
"Good, because I would've hated for us to get there and not have those tickets."
They continued the rest of the ride in silence, both looking at the Floridian scenery. It wasn't much longer when they arrived at their final destination, on land at least.
"Here we are folks. That'll be 15.85," the cabby told his passengers as he brought the cab to a stop.
Peter took out his wallet and gave the cabby the required fare along with a tip.
"Thank you, sir, would you like some help with your bags?"
"Sure, with all the things my wife packed, I could use the extra hands." As a result of that comment, MJ swatted her husband in the stomach.
There wasn't a lot of luggage despite Peter's comment but with him having the proportionate strength of a spider, he could handle it.
"Do you think your husband can manage that? If not, you can always call for a porter for assistance," the cabby helpfully informed Mary Jane.
"Oh, he can manage perfectly on his own," Mary Jane answered.
"Yeah, I'll be all right," chimed in Peter.
"Okay, I hope you two enjoy your cruise," the cabby told them as he re-entered his cab and then went on his way.
With luggage in tow, they went over to where they could board the ship. Before getting in line, Peter and Mary Jane took a good look at the ship that they would be traveling on.
"This will definitely be some trip, MJ," Peter said, still taking in the view of the cruise ship.
"I know," Mary Jane answered. "I still can't believe how lucky we were that we got these tickets."
"No, it was your luck that we scored this nice cruise because we both know how my luck is. Besides, you were the one that entered that draw."
"Okay, that's true but I never expected to win. Plus, we need to thank Tony for providing us with the transportation to get down here and for convincing you that it was all right for you to have some time away from the Avengers."
"That's probably the first thing I'll do when we get back. So, what are we waiting for, sweetheart?"
Giving a nod to her husband, Mary Jane and Peter made their way up to the cruise ship's main deck to check in.
"Check out the name of the ship, MJ," Peter told her as he pointed to one of the smoke stacks of the ship with the name emblazoned on the side.
Mary Jane took a glance and smiled. "Caribbean Princess, not a bad name."
"Ah, the sun and fun of a Caribbean cruise. You just gotta love it."
"I know I will."
After taking a brief look around the ship, the pair headed towards what could be considered the lobby of the ship. This part of the ship was spacious and appeared to have all the amenities that a five-star hotel would have and was just as busy as one.
Finding the registration desk to check in, Peter and Mary Jane waded through the sea of people to register. Once they got over to the desk, they patiently waited in line.
It wasn't long until they were greeted at the registration desk. "Welcome aboard the Caribbean Princess, how may I help you?"
"Parker, party of two," Peter told the registration attendant with Mary Jane right by his side.
"Just one moment, sir," the attendant said as she typed away on her computer looking for the name 'Parker'. "Can I have your first name, please?"
"It's Peter and I'm with my wife Mary Jane if that will help."
"Thank you, Mr. Parker." With Peter's name, the attendant continued to scan the passenger list. "Ah, here it is. Mr. Parker, you and your wife will be in room 319 on the third passenger deck. Just take the elevator that's off to the right here, go down to the third level and your room shouldn't be too far from there."
"Thank you," Mary Jane said to her as she looked at the attendant's name tag, "Cindy."
"You're very welcome and I hope you enjoy your cruise," Cindy added cheerily.
"We will and thanks again," Peter stated as he and Mary Jane picked up their bags and headed toward the elevator that Cindy told them to use.
As they ventured over to the elevator, Mary Jane was bumped by a fellow passenger, who didn't seem to notice what had happened.
"Well, excuse me," Mary Jane said sarcastically as she turned around to see who bumped her.
Peter looked in that direction as well, but for an entirely different reason. With a puzzling look on his face, he turned back to his wife.
Mary Jane noticed the look on his face. "Is something wrong, Peter?"
"I'm not sure, MJ. For a minute there I felt my spider-sense go off. Maybe it was just to warn me not to get bumped by that guy. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, let's just go to our cabin and unpack."
Taking Peter's hand, Mary Jane led him over to the elevators. On their way to them, Peter kept looking back to where that stranger had gone and wondered about why his spider-sense went off.
The man that had bumped into Mary Jane continued on his way to a group of gentlemen in the opposite direction to where the Parkers were heading.
"You boys got everything taken care of?"
"Everything is in place but nothing has been set in motion," the group spokesman answered.
"Good, because nothing happens around here without my say so. Got it?"
"Yes, sir," was their reply.
"You also have your cabin numbers?"
They each, in turn, told the man where they would be staying. He learned from them that there would be two of his men on each of the key decks. Of course, it helped that he had all this planned several months ago.
"All right, just go to your rooms. I'll let you know when we'll set things in motion." The men departed for their cabins.
It wasn't long until the man who instructed the men in the ship's lobby arrived, with baggage in hand to his cabin.
"This should definitely be an interesting voyage," he said as he began to unpack.
Most of the items in the suitcase were typical for an ocean cruise – shorts, some short sleeved shirts and some sunscreen – but what lay below was not. The last loud Hawaiian shirt was removed to reveal a well padded brown and yellow suit.
AN: Please leave a review because I would like to know what you think. Constructive criticism is fine but no flames.