Fast Break

A/N - There's actually some basketball in here, yay! I still don't own Spider-Man.


Chapter 3:

Peter's POV

The crowds cheered as Peter stepped into the court. Despite being with the visiting team, he still had thousands of fans here in Los Angeles, rooting for him to carry the Knicks to victory over the Lakers. Peter knew he should be more grateful for the overwhelming support the people are giving him, but for some reason, his mind just kept coming back to MJ.

She left me, Peter reminded himself. I need to forget about her. She was right, we both have our own careers to focus on. It's just that—it'll be hard for me to focus on this game if I can't take her out of my mind!

Peter was brought back to the present when his coach, David Fizdale, patted him on the back. "Are you feeling better now, Peter? You ready to take this ring once and for all?"

Ring? What ring? My wife just split up with me. He can't seriously think that I'm proposing to—Oh, right. Peter sighed and nodded once he realized what his coach meant.

"It'll get better in time. Trust me, I've been there," Coach David said encouragingly before shifting back to his authoritative voice, "Now get out there and show 'em what you got!"

Peter joined his teammates on their pre-game drills, doing some shoot-around. They smiled encouragingly at him, for they already knew bits of what had transpired last night. Rumours spread like wildfire when someone misses the pre-game national anthem, so Peter had to clear things out before they got out of hand.

He was late because he wasn't able to sleep the whole night after MJ left. Instead, he stayed up tossing and turning in his bed until he gave up trying to sleep at 5 AM. He got up and ate breakfast, repeatedly called MJ's phone to no avail, worked out, and paced around his room until 7 AM, which was when sleep finally overcame him and he passed out on the floor. When he woke up at 4 PM, he completely forgot where he was until memories from last night came rushing back to him. By then, he had never felt so desolate and empty before.

MJ is gone.

The buzzer rang and ended Peter's brooding. He took a deep breath and sighed as he joined his teammates on their bench, ready to start the game.

MJ's POV

MJ sat in the airport bar as she waited for the next flight to New York. She had missed the flight she initially took because she fell asleep in the waiting lounge, tired after silently crying throughout the whole night.

A roar of cheering in one corner of the room caught MJ's attention, and she saw that a large crowd of men were cramped around a television. She realized that Peter's game must be playing, and before she was able to stop herself, MJ had walked to join the group to get a better look at the screen. It was showing a replay of Peter stealing the ball from Lebron James, bouncing it off the backboard back to himself, and dunking it before the buzzer went off. For someone who is only six feet tall, Peter can sure jump high even without his spider strength. The first quarter ended with 24-19 for the Knicks. MJ couldn't help but feel a little sense of pride for her ex-husband.

The screen turned back to the live feed of the game and it zoomed in on Peter, sitting on the bench. Just seeing his face made MJ's heart skip a beat. Looking at him hurt her on the inside, but she didn't care because she still loved him very much. Despite wanting to turn away, she kept on watching just so that she could see him for a little while longer.

Peter wasn't talking to anyone at the bench, and MJ knew him long enough to know how he always arched his eyebrows up when he's trying to hide his emotions. She noticed that he kept glancing at a seat behind him, and she knew that he was looking for her at her usual spot during his games, only to find it empty this time. Guilt built up in her throat, and she chided herself for not waiting until after the game to speak with him. She knew how bad it hurt to have someone be absent during that one time you expect them to be there for you. It was one of the main reasons why she decided to end it off with Peter, after all, but now it was her doing it to him. Today was an important day for him, and she had probably ruined it.

As if to confirm what she had just been thinking, the second quarter started with Peter slacking off behind the other players on the court. Before Peter even crossed the center line, Tim had stolen the ball from Lonzo Ball and passed it to Peter, giving him a perfect chance for a fast break. Peter rushed back to his team's basket and jumped for another dunk, only for the ball to bounce off from the ring and for Peter to land on his bum. The audience, both in the stadium and in the bar, went silent. Peter Parker never failed a dunk, ever.

He buried his face in the shirt under his jersey, but when his face surfaced several seconds later, he was smiling with tears running down his cheeks.

MJ then realized that Peter was wearing the yellow shirt she usually wore for bed. She hadn't packed it in her luggage because she wasn't planning on leaving LA until Peter finished tonight's game. MJ then knew that Peter had been smelling her scent; that Peter had tears pouring out of his eyes because of her scent; and that Peter was smiling because of her scent.

If MJ had been doing a good job at controlling her emotions a few seconds ago, she wasn't anymore. She joined Peter in heartbreak and broke into tears as well, ignoring the other people at the bar.

Peter's POV

Peter had done a good job not thinking about MJ the whole first quarter, but as he sat on the bench, he couldn't take it anymore. He needed MJ to be with him, and the closest thing he had left of her was the yellow shirt. He had brought it with him on his way to the locker room to remind himself that someone as beautiful as her existed, and he needed to be reminded again. So, during the break, Peter sped to the locker room to retrieve MJ's shirt and put it on under his jersey. Once he got back on the court, he was surrounded by the smell of MJ's body. He was in bliss.

Unfortunately, his euphoria was interrupted by a ball coming towards him. He remembered that he was playing a game, in a professional league, in front of millions of people. So he caught the ball and took the fast break. Before he jumped, however, he subconsciously looked for MJ behind his team's bench, and he suddenly remembered that she wasn't there.

The next thing he knew, he was sitting on the floor with MJ's scent seeping into his nose. He stopped caring about anything else and he buried his face under the yellow shirt. For the first time in two years, Peter cried.

Enes helped Peter get back on his feet and noticed his face glistening with tears.

"You alright down there, man?" Enes joked, trying to cheer Peter up, "You know, you won't always land on your feet. You gotta get used to that or Coach Dave is gonna start pestering you about being a crybaby."

Peter didn't know what to say to that so he just forced out a laugh. As he sat on the bench, his teammates left him alone, which he was thankful for. His peace was alas quickly broken when Coach David called his name and signalled for him to follow to the locker room.

"Get it together, Peter. We have a championship to win, and we need you focused for that. Forget about your wife. Crying won't bring her back and there are plenty of much better…"

Coach David continued to reprimand Peter, but he had stopped listening by then. His thoughts drifted back to MJ and MJ only.


A/N - I know Peter is supposed to only be 5'10" but I just can't imagine him throwing dunks left and right when there are professional players who are a foot taller trying to block him.

I'd like to thank everyone for the reviews. It really motivates me to write more so keep them coming!