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Chapter Thirteen

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"Please don't say anything about what happened to Aunt Anna, Peter. Or your Aunt May." Mary Jane had pleaded to him on the way home on the subway, so earnest in her eyes that Peter felt that he had no choice but to give her his word.

He wouldn't say anything so long as Mary Jane was for certain out of that man's life. If she was going to live happy and safe with her Aunt Anna, Peter didn't see the harm in keeping this secret between them. But if he felt that her safety was in jeopardy, then all bets were off. Hell, Spider-Man may even make an appearance at that point.

His senses were still wired even now as they entered the lobby of their apartment building. The anger and adrenaline he felt from the situation was slow to wane and his body was still on full alert. From such a short time of knowing her, Mary Jane had somehow become someone that Peter felt overly protective over. Somehow, she had managed to easily worm her way into his heart, right next to the other people that Peter cared deeply for like Aunt May, Tony, and Ned.

As they climbed the stairs, Mary Jane was slowly starting to come back to her normal self and spoke further on the topics that they talked on before they arrived at her parent's house. Peter was grateful. It served as a distraction from his red vision whenever he pictured Mr. Watson in his mind. It also helped to see her smile start to get more and more genuine as time passed. Her smile was so beautiful.

When they got to her door, Mary Jane opened it and left it wide for Peter to be able to enter behind her with the plastic totes. He followed her into a bedroom and instantly recognized it. Peter was immediately brought back to the night that she saved him, where he spent hours in this very apartment, so lost to the world but still happy to be in the presence of Mary Jane at the same time.

He shook his head of the memory and set the totes on the bed before he turned to Mary Jane. "Do you need help unpacking?"

MJ sighed as she looked at the small amount of things she brought with her before she shook her head. "Thanks, Tiger, but I'll get to it a bit later."

She looked so emotionally exhausted that Peter's heart instantly went out to her. He still wasn't quite sure what it was that she was going through. He was sure that the only grief he must have felt was from his parents and Uncle Ben's deaths - which he could barely remember right now. His brain still had a bit of ways to heal. So he could only emphasize with her. But one thing that he did know was that he didn't want to leave her alone right now to stew in this. Something told him that she needed to be surrounded by people right now. So, he squared his shoulders and cleared his throat. Mary Jane looked up at him.

"My Aunt May was starting to make cookies when I came over here. You want to come over and help me steal a couple dozen?"

His lightheartedness caused her to crack a slight smile. "That sounds great, Tiger. I could use a couple dozen cookies right about now."

He beamed at her, glad to see that his assumptions weren't off the mark.

"You won't regret it! May makes the best chocolate chip cookies," Peter said as they make their way out of the apartment door, "But I gotta say, your aunt has her beat on the oatmeal raisin cookies. I don't know how she manages to make them so soft but crispy around the edge."

Peter put in the key and opened the door to his apartment but they both froze at the sight in front of them.

There, sitting at the kitchen island in one of the bar stools, was Tony. Eating a cookie. Aunt May pouring him a glass of milk.

Mary Jane gasped beside him and he turned to see her gaping at the man while Peter was trying not to panic.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!

This was bad. This was really bad.

How was he supposed to explain to MJ about Tony Stark eating cookies in his apartment, looking comfortable enough to imply that he's been here multiple times before? On top of that, wasn't it Tony that retrieved his unconscious body from Mary Jane on the night of Peter's accident? Would MJ make the connection? Would she-

"Peter?" Mary Jane leaned over to whisper to him, for once calling him by his real name as her eyes never wavered away from Tony. "Why is Tony Stark in your apartment?"

Peter's mouth fell open but no noise came out.

"There he is!" Tony interrupted his lack of speech as he wiped the crumbs off of his goatee and stood. He approached and clapped Peter on the shoulder. "I come bearing gifts for your next assignment."

Mary Jane shot a confused glance between them and Tony pretended to notice her standing there, catching the look. "He works for me. Internship. Good for the public image, taking a chance on the youth and such." A twinge of a memory of him using this excuse before crossed his mind. He said it to Flash and a girl he couldn't quite remember in his mind.

"We haven't met," Tony held out his hand to Mary Jane and she absentmindedly took it in her own.

Peter jumped in to make the introductions. "Mr. Stark, this is my neighbor, Mary Jane Watson. MJ, this is Tony Stark… my boss?"

Ugh. Why did it have to come out sounding like a question?

"Uhhh…" Mary Jane said as she looked sideways at Peter before she turned her attention back to Tony, a quizzical tilt to her brows. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Stark."

…..

Mary Jane was, for lack of a better term, confused. Did Tony Stark not remember her at all? Was she really that forgetful? If yes, well, that was disheartening and really didn't bode well for her future in potential modeling or acting.

And yet, that seemed to be the case. As Tony really did look upon her as a stranger as they stood around the kitchen island rather than the girl he knew to have helped Spider-Man. She kept stealing glances at the man, trying to gauge any flickers of recognition in his gaze, and yet, there was none.

"Here," Tony said to Peter as he handed him a high-security metal briefcase, "You'll need to properly set it up before I leave. So why don't you take it to your room? See if it's working properly."

He gave Peter a very significant look, who stood at attention and eagerly complied, taking the briefcase from Tony before retreating to his room. Leaving her alone with one of the most famous men on the planet… with Aunt May in the kitchen still, of course. So not entirely alone… but alone enough.

Despite her normal confidence, she felt nerves crawl up her spine. Why was this happening so frequently, lately? This wasn't her at all.

So, she squared her shoulders to the best of her ability and turned to Tony Stark. "Mr. Stark? Do you happen to remember me?"

He didn't seem surprised by her addressing him, nor by the abrupt question she threw at him. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye with an appraising eye and a raised brow. "Of course I do. Thanks again for your help that night."

Despite herself, Mary Jane brightened significantly at that before she looked to make sure that Peter wasn't close by, listening. He wasn't. He was still in his room.

"I, uh, I'm glad. So… how is he?"

She felt that she didn't have to clarify aloud who she was referring to. He was a smart man, after all, he could figure out the context.

Tony looked at her straight on now, his eyes studying her. "He's been fine. He's recovered a lot since the night you found him."

Mary Jane already knew this, but she didn't want Spider-Man to get into any trouble by letting it slip that he snuck out to fight crime… and save her in the process.

"I'm glad to hear it. But, uh… I was wondering if you could get him a message for me…?" She tucked her hair behind her right ear nervously.

Both brows were raised now. And there was a sort of glimmer in his eye and a twitch of his mouth that she couldn't quite understand. "Oh? What would you like for me to pass on?"

Mary Jane smiled slightly at his willingness so far. Especially given that she was involved in the situation that got Spider-Man grounded to begin with. "Tell him that I decide my own fate, thank you very much, and I would like for him to meet me on the roof of this building tomorrow night. Eight o'clock sharp."

For some reason, Tony found this all to be very amusing. He laughed a big belly laugh before he patted her twice on the shoulder. "Sure, Kid, sure. I'll be sure to tell him."

The gratitude that she felt swelling in her chest was more than worth the anxiety it took to ask the initial request in the first place. Now, she only had to hope that Spider-Man would see things her way and let go of the ridiculous idea of distance between them. And if he did show up? She shivered at the resulting butterflies that bounced around in her abdomen at the thought.

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A/N: Tell me what you think of this chapter! Any predictions? Thanks for sticking with this story so far!