Oh boy, it's time for more fun! This is where you're probably (hopefully) gonna see more of the parallels I'm trying to draw between Peter/MJ and Ben/Gwen.

Hope y'all enjoy!

Behind the Curtain Part 1

"You got any hot dogs?"

Gwen's jaw dropped. Ben Reilly was The Scarlet Spider, he was a hero, and he…he looked like he'd just gone through hell! His signature blue hoodie was a shredded mess of fabric that looked more like a poncho than a hoodie, and his red bodysuit was torn in several places while other places had a dark tint to them. "Ben," she said, her hand covering her mouth, "is that blood?"

Ben looked down at his chest and legs. "Yeah, that would explain a lot," he grunted, crouching down. "Can I come in?"

Gwen wanted to say something more clever, but her mouth and brain were on two completely different wavelengths so all that came out of her mouth was, "Uh, duh!"

Ben stumbled through the window and crumpled into a bloody heap on the floor. "Huh, adrenaline really is something," Ben remarked as he dragged his body to the wall so he could lean against it.

Gwen sat down next to Ben, completely unsure of what to do. He had cuts and scrapes all along his chest and legs that–while not bleeding profusely–made her whole body shake. She'd seen her dad in the hospital before, she'd seen Peter in the hospital, but she'd never seen their wounds before the doctors patched them up. She didn't know what to do.

Seemingly hearing her inner panic, Ben wrapped his hand around Gwen's. He rubbed soothing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. Slowly, she stopped shaking and her heart ceased its pounding in her ears. Then she saw the blood on Ben's hands.

"Who-what happened Ben?" she asked. There were a million questions flowing through her brain, but there were two that she was dying to know more than anything. "Why here? Why now?"

Ben shifted on the floor. Gwen could see his mind working up what he was about to say, but she knew it wouldn't be truthful. Gwen was done with lies, especially now that Ben had revealed his biggest secret to her. "I…something happened," he said, looking at the floor. "Something that made me realize a few things about myself."

Gwen's eyes flickered to the blood in his hand, her mind jumping irrationally to the worst possible explanation. "You didn't…"

Ben gave a hollow laugh. "I may as well have," he said. He then looked up, his brown eyes meeting her blue ones. "I don't want to hide myself from you anymore. This secret identity thing…I won't be making those mistakes anymore."

"What happened out there?" Gwen whispered, situating herself right next to Ben against the wall.

"I-not tonight," he breathed out. "Please, I'll answer anything else you want to ask. I just want to put this night behind me."

Gwen looked at her legs. There was so much she wanted to know, so much she needed to know, but when she looked back at Ben and saw just how broken he looked, she felt her resolve strengthen. She could wait for when he was ready, it was already a huge step to reveal probably the biggest secret of his life.

Ben's stomach growled and he looked at Gwen with hope in his eyes. "I was serious about that hot dog," he said. Ben made to stand up when he let out a hiss of pain and slumped back down to the floor. "Also, I wouldn't mind a clean wet towel."

Gwen felt her heart lift a little at Ben's attitude and she rose to her feet, retrieving the towel, but she did not return to Ben with a hot dog. Instead, she carried a bag of goldfish in her hand. She entered her room only to squeak. Ben had taken off the top half of his scarlet bodysuit, and she'd only gotten a glimpse of the scrapes and scars on top of his physique before she turned around. "So, how did you get like this?" Gwen stammered, holding out the damp towel and goldfish behind her back.

Ben grabbed both items and laughed at Gwen. "You know, this conversation would be less awkward if you turned around," he said, lightly teasing her.

"Put a shirt on!" Gwen cried out to him. However, Gwen found her head swiveling to sneak a peek at Ben on its own accord, but the rest of her mind refused to let her turn around completely.

"Oh, so my tattered and bloody uniform is okay, but shirtless is too much?" he asked. "Besides, no shirt till I can clean up my chest a bit. I don't make the rules, my body does."

Gwen let out a sigh and turned around. Ben sat on the ground again—looking quite uncomfortable—the black towel she'd given him in one hand on his chest and the other was shoveling handfuls of goldfish into his mouth. She strode toward him and sat down next to him, declining his offer of snacks. "How did you become like this?"

Ben swallowed and shifted the towel on his chest. "You remember that field trip to ESU I mentioned the other day?" he asked, his voice a little tight from the pressure he was putting on his chest. Gwen nodded. "Well, as it turns out, spider bites from genetically altered spiders are kinda bad for you."

Gwen furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?" She watched Ben winces again as he moved the towel to a different cut on his chest, and she scooted a little closer to him.

Ben scratched his head. "I kinda fell into a coma after it bit me," he answered.

Gwen gasped, not noticing how her hand gripped Ben's free one.

"I know they say that you can hear everything around you when you're in a coma," Ben said, squeezing her hand back, "but I really don't remember anything going on around me. It was all jumbled and hazy. I woke up in my room and instantly jumped into the ceiling. I spent the next few months working with Professor Warren on how to control my abilities."

"Wait, Professor Miles Warren! He knows who you are?" Gwen asked, surprised.

Ben shrugged. "Not sure, he just wanted to study what I could do. After we did all the testing he wanted, I went home and before I knew it, summer was over and I was heading for Midtown." Ben adjusted the towel on his cut and hissed in pain, causing him to drop the towel to the floor.

Before Ben could pick it up, Gwen reached over, grabbed the towel, and proceeded to dab it along his wounds. Ben gave a sigh of relief and shifted his body so that he was partially leaning on Gwen. Silence fell over the two as Gwen lightly applied pressure to the cuts in his chest. Her breath hitched as she watched the rise and fall of Ben's abs.

Gwen's eyes widened slightly as she and Ben locked eyes. At that moment, it all came crashing down on her that she was alone with a boy in her room. It wasn't like she and Harry hadn't been left alone before. They'd gone out to dinner alone, walked through the city alone, and had their fair share of intimate moments together but they had never ventured into her room. Harry certainly tried, but it's very hard to get away with that when your father is a police captain. However, here she was now, alone with a boy she definitely had both intellectual and physical attraction towards, and it scared her. Scared her that the boy she cared for was here in her room wounded, half-naked, and extremely vulnerable.

"So," she said, clearing her throat and breaking her eye contact with Ben and wringing out the towel on the fire escape, "why do you wear the mask? Why Spider-Man?"

Ben looked at the floor. His face changed like he was having an intense argument with himself. "I'm not entirely sure, to be honest," he answered. "It's all kind of fuzzy, but there's one thing that stands out to me." Ben reached for his shredded hoodie and stared at the spider symbol embroidered on it. "Never had much money, not since my dad…anyway, I wanted to make some extra cash. Get myself a car to take the girl I liked out on a date, but for a kid whose work ethic would make an employer shit his pants, options were slim."

Gwen froze. She wasn't sure where Ben was going with this, but it made her nervous. If anything, his story reminded her scarily of Mark Allen.

"I met this guy—Blackie something—and I was going to use my abilities to do a job for him, get the money I wanted, and get out," he said, the shame in his voice showing itself as his fists clenched at the torn hoodie. "However, the day before school started and a few hours before the job, I saw Spider-Man."

Gwen, who had finished clearing up the majority of Ben's wounds, pulled Ben into her lap. He didn't fight her and seemed to relax completely in her embrace, closing his eyes as she threaded her fingers through his tangled hair.

"I'd seen him in the paper, but seeing him in action…" he said, releasing the hoodie from his grasp and taking Gwen's hand. "He was just like me. But instead of using his powers to make a quick buck, he used them to save a little girl from a burning building. After that, I couldn't go through with the job. Instead, I made my own suit and web-shooters and stopped it from going down."

"I saw you," Gwen said. Ben opened his eyes and looked at Gwen confused. "After the first day of school, MJ and I were at the Silver Spoon and you and Spider-Man came swinging by. I thought you were gonna go splat into the street with the way you were swinging."

"Nah, I'm too good to go splat," Ben said with an impish grin.

Gwen rolled her eyes, lowering her head closer to Ben's. "What's it like?" she whispered.

"Amazing," he said, pushing a stray lock of Gwen's hair behind her ear. "The city is so loud and messy at the bottom, but once you gain a little altitude and see the sun reflected off the buildings as it goes down, you see the pretty picture a change in perspective can offer."

"I think I'd like to see that," Gwen said, moving lower. Her eyes flickered between Ben's twinkling eyes and impish smirk as her heart thundered in her ears for different reasons than when Ben first arrived. Of all the people he could've gone to to share this secret, he came to her. Finally, after years of being an afterthought to all except her father, she was the first choice!

"Gwen?"

Her father's voice felt like the coldest wave in the ocean had crashed into her. Her moment with Ben now encased in ice. However, while she froze, Ben did the opposite and bounded straight to the ceiling, sticking to it on all fours. Despite her fear of her dad walking in and seeing her alone in her room with a half-naked hero, Gwen felt a fit of giggles overtake her and she crumpled to the floor, clutching her stomach.

"Must you?" Ben hissed at her, webbing his backpack, mask, the top half of his costume, and torn hoodie and yanking them to him.

"I'm sorry," Gwen said through giggles.

"Gwen?"

"Up here Daddy," Gwen called back to her father. She ran to her door and cracked it open just a bit, she couldn't see her dad, but she saw his silhouette growing in size on the stairwell. She turned back and saw Ben wearing his torn hoodie and backpack as he hung upside down outside her window. Gwen spotted his mask on her bed and rushed to grab it. "Don't forget this!" She tossed the mask at him and he caught it.

Ben looked at her with a peculiar look on his face, like he was trying to come to a decision but was constantly fighting himself against it. Then, Gwen heard her dad ask if she wanted any Mac n Cheese for dinner, and Ben's face fell.

However, Gwen had other ideas. The last time she did this, there was so much uncertainty behind it, but with Ben, she felt more confident in this choice than she ever had with any other decision in her life. She pushed herself up onto the windowsill and–despite his being upside down–kissed Ben.

She felt his surprise quickly melt away as he leaned in, causing a fire to erupt inside her. This feeling of happiness, of pure bliss, was something she'd never felt before, and it filled her with a warmth that she knew would stay through the cold night ahead of her.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Gwen groaned but pulled away from Ben, savoring the lingering taste of his lips on hers. It was her turn to flash a smirk at him as he hung dumbfounded in front of her window. "Tomorrow, we're finally getting those hot dogs," she said as she rushed to the door of her bedroom. Ben's eyes twinkled and he put his damaged mask on. The last thing Gwen heard as she shut her door was a shout of joy as her hero swung off into the night.

Watson Residence

Mary Jane sat next to her window, hugging herself as she stared out into the dark street. She'd rehearsed her lines for the school play auditions more times than she ever had previously, and while that had helped her keep her mind distracted, she couldn't help but constantly glance at the clock and house down the street.

It wasn't the first night MJ found herself waiting by the window. Ever since the start of senior year, MJ had barely had a night where she fell asleep before midnight. Whether it was from schoolwork, rehearsing, or her worry that her boyfriend would get himself killed while he tried to clean up the streets in a red and blue costume.

The redhead opened her phone, intending to browse any of the social media apps she had downloaded when her messages popped open. She found herself looking at her text chain with Peter, watching the three dots that meant he was typing a message. In a burst of unprecedented speed, MJ whipped around and pressed her face against her window. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the light in Peter's room.

"He's safe," she said to herself as she moved away from the window and back to her bed. "He's alive, I'll see him tomorrow." She looked back at her phone and felt her body sag when she no longer saw the three dots. He's probably just tired.

Speaking of tired, Mary Jane felt the warm allure of sleep slithering its way into her mind now that she knew Peter was home. She changed into her pajamas quickly and slipped under the covers, closing her eyes as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Mary Jane walked hand in hand with Peter through Times Square on a cloudless sunny day. It was perfect; the sun was shining, the taxies were chirping, and only a few of their fellow New Yorkers were screaming obscenities at each other. And best of all, they had actually gotten through a date without Peter having to run off and cut it short.

MJ sighed contently, leaned her head on Peter's shoulder, and hugged his arm.

"What's gotten into you, Red?" Peter asked with a smirk.

MJ looked up at him. "What?"

"You're not usually the extremely touchy-feely-clingy type," he remarked. "It's…nice."

"We redheads do like to keep people on their toes," she teased. Then, her face turned serious as she looked into his brown eyes. "You never know when life will throw a curveball at you."

Peter grinned. "With my level of athleticism, it'd probably hit me square in the face."

That's when Mary Jane heard it, the one sound that always meant her time with Peter had run its course: a police siren. Her eyes closed as she hid the disappointment on her face. She may not know why he put on that costume, but she knew he couldn't sit by and do nothing. It was one of the things she loved about him, though that didn't make it any less scary.

"Sorry, MJ," Peter said, putting his phone in his pocket. "I gotta run, Aunt May needs me to pick up a prescription for her."

MJ took a deep breath. "Go ahead, I'll see you later?"

"Promise!" With that, Peter turned around and ran off away from her.

Mary Jane started walking. To where and for how long? She had no idea, she just wanted to walk. Of course, that didn't stop the tiny little demons from poking her mind and prodding all her worst thoughts to come out from the depths she'd forced them to.

Why hasn't he told me yet? Why does he insist on lying to me? I would trust him with my darkest secrets, why can't he trust me with his? If he just came clean this whole relationship would be so much easier!

Mary Jane hugged herself tightly as she walked, not caring about who she bumped into. Maybe I should just tell him I know? Get ahead of all this…baggage!

"This just in: Spider-Man, New York's own superhero, is currently locked in a fierce battle with The Sinister Six, led by none other than the mysterious Venom, and things are not looking good for the Web-Slinger!"

Mary Jane whirled around and pushed her way through the crowd of people surrounding the Tvs in the shop. There was Spider-Man, his costume torn in various places, however, the bold white spider logo on his chest and back stood firm. MJ felt her hand cover her mouth as it trembled. Her heart was pounding so loud in her ears that she nearly didn't hear what the anchorman said next.

"This scuffle began when The Sinister Six called out Spider-Man with a message written in webs across the Brooklyn Bridge. It is unknown as to the motive of the six, but can confirm that Edward Brock Junior is not the man under the Venom…mask? When Spider-Man didn't show, they started to wreak havoc and take hostages. Spider-Man got the hostages out, but seems to have had little luck in subduing the six super-villains," the anchorman said. The camera swapped views, showing the police officers that were rushing the hostages Spider-Man past their barricade.

Then, it swapped to a helicopter view. Spider-Man swung off the edge of the bridge, luring both Kraven and Vulture over the edge. Suddenly, the helicopter camera shook violently, and the last thing seen on the feed was the black and white sinewy face of Venom. Venom's mouth moved, but there were no words coming out of the Tv. Fast as light, two black tendrils shot out from Venom's sides and they pulled the pilot toward him. His mouth opened wide, but just before it snapped shut, Spider-Man swooped in and kicked Venom in the chest.

Venom tumbled backward, allowing Spider-Man to carry the two civilians away. However, before he got far, a sharp, black javelin-like object sprouted just to the left of his abs.

Mary Jane gasped and turned around, pushing her way out of the crowd. She sprinted for the Brooklyn Bridge, ignoring how many people were running in the opposite direction. She had to get to the bridge, she had to get to Peter. It didn't matter to Mary Jane that she could be in danger just by getting closer, it didn't matter to her that it's not what Peter would want. She had to be there, she had to see him; see that he was physically safe.

"Come on, Pete," she grunted as she ran, the bridge now within her sight. It was crowded to the breaking point with police officers. "You promised! Don't you break that promise now!"

Mary Jane pushed her way through the crowd and police officers with all the fire of a woman on a mission when she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her. She didn't look back to see who it was, she just fought them tooth and nail to break free from their grip.

"Miss Watson!"

She recognized the voice, and it made her stop for a second to look around.

"Captain Stacy, please, let me go!" she cried, trying to free herself yet again.

"It's too dangerous, we can't let anyone go!" he said back to her, his voice deadly calm despite the worry she could see in his eyes.

"You don't understand!" she yelled, struggling. "I have to get to him!"

"That won't make things better!" the captain said, tightening his old in the frantic redhead. "He won't be able to focus with you there!"

BOOM!

A pillar of fire erupted down the bridge. Silence overtook the crowd. No one spoke as no sounds of a fight, or quip could be heard. Mary Jane felt her heart fall into her stomach. No, NO! Dammnit Peter, this is not funny! The world crashed around Mary Jane, and so did her body weight. The only reason she remained standing was due to Captain Stacy's tight hold over her. However, just as the tears welled up in her eyes–

THWIP!

Mary Jane felt her strength come back to her legs, and she broke free of the captain's grip to run full speed for the bridge. She made it past the barricade just as she saw a bloody figure in a tattered red and blue costume land roughly in front of her. The white spider logo on his chest had a long gash diagonally across that was stained red.

Spider-Man took exactly one step before he crumpled to the ground. Mary Jane rushed to him and cradled him in her arms. He was still breathing, though it was faint, and he was shaking. No…she was shaking. It only got worse as she felt her hands grow slick with blood, Peter's blood!

Mary Jane's eyes widened. "Someone! Help!" she screamed, looking back at the police barricade, but it was gone. "Please, he needs help!"

"Hey, Red?" a voice said weakly. "You mind…taking off the mask for me? A little hard to…breathe right now."

Mary Jane shakily removed Spider-Man's mask, revealing the cut, bloody, and smiling face of her boyfriend. He coughed as he took a deep breath. "Told ya you'd see me later," he said. "Promised you didn't I?"

MJ gave a choked laugh as the tears on her face washed away a tiny bit of blood from Peter's face. "You did," she said, cupping his face. Then, her blood turned to ice in her veins. He wasn't breathing anymore. "Peter? PETER!?"

"PETER!" Mary Jane shot up in her bed, her hair damp with sweat and her entire body shook uncontrollably. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, focusing on what she could hear, smell, and touch to calm her racing heartbeat. Different event, same outcome, she thought.

That one recurring nightmare that had plagued her ever since she saw Peter climb out of his window the night after her Welcome Home party. Mary Jane knew it wasn't irrational. She had seen Peter first hand in action as Spider-Man, she knew just how capable he was, how strong he was. She'd watched him overcome impossible odds, but the fear that he would one day stumble into a fight that he wouldn't walk away from had tortured her for nearly a month.

Mary Jane rubbed her face and looked at her clock, 6:37. Just enough time to shower.

"Mary Jane?" her Aunt Anna called from down the hall. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, Auntie," MJ responded. "Just stubbed my toe." The young redhead got out of her bed and went about her morning routine, though, without time to put her makeup on.

When Peter knocked on her Aunt's door, Mary Jane never stood up from the breakfast table faster. The second she saw his signature blue shirt, she launched herself at him, wrapping him in the tightest hug imaginable.

"Good morning to you too!" Peter said, wrapping his arms around her. When she stepped back, his grin faltered slightly. "You okay, Red?"

I should tell him, right now! Tell him I know that he's Spider-Man, that I can't fall asleep until I see him crawl into his bedroom at night. How much I want to bang on his door in the middle of the night and crawl into bed next to him just to make sure he was still breathing! But Mary Jane didn't say any of that. She just couldn't bring herself to say anything when her advice to Gwen floated across her mind. She knew herself, knew she was strong enough to carry this secret until Peter was ready to tell her himself. So, she answered with the truth. "I didn't sleep well last night. Didn't have time to put my makeup on."

"You wear makeup?" Peter asked as the two walked down the street.

Mary Jane quirked an eyebrow at Peter, who grinned back at her like nothing was wrong. It was moments like these where she felt like the world was right. Just her and Peter talking and spending time together. "Correct answer," she said primly. "Where's Ben?"

Peter's grin slid off his face. "Aunt May said he left early."

"Ben Reilly woke up early?" Mary Jane said, raising her eyebrows in disbelief. Then her conversation with Gwen clicked in her head. "He have a hot date?"

"He definitely took a hot shower," Peter grumbled. "And I'm talking all the hot water! That's just rude."

MJ laughed and shook her head. "Once again Tiger, you distract too easily."

"Come again," Peter said, cupping his hand around his ear as they walked up the stairs to the train.

"Ben and Gwen…" she said, however, while her boyfriend was a scientific genius, he was not a social one. "They went on a date last weekend and kissed, but he left right after."

Peter stumbled on the stairs, then quickly regained his footing. "He left? Right after they kissed?" he asked, his eyes wide as they entered the train. "Did he tell her why?"

MJ furrowed her brow, she didn't know why Peter would feel so strongly about this. It's not like he had any leg to stand on. "Nope, he just left." Peter breathed a sigh of relief and leaned his head back on the windows of the train. It confused her, but she was still feeling the effects of her nightmare. She scooted closer to Peter and leaned her head on his strong shoulder, trying to gain just a few more minutes of sleep before she had to stay awake for the rest of the day.

When MJ opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was The Scarlet Spider outside the window opposite of her, swinging across the city. Then, she felt Peter's abrupt movements jog her completely from her sleep. He shot to his feet and followed the hooded superhero across the window.

"Tiger, this is our stop," MJ said, grabbing his arm. Peter didn't seem to register her as they walked. His head constantly swiveled around the city and MJ couldn't help but feel a small twinge of annoyance at this. Ever since The Scarlet Spider appeared, her and Peter's time together had been the best of their relationship. Plus, the fact that Peter had someone out there watching his back helped her fall asleep at night. She may not know who it was under the mask, but she knew Peter wouldn't have let someone out there with him if they couldn't take care of themselves.

He had someone else out there taking care of things. Was it so hard to just sit back for once and enjoy the time they have together?

MJ's huff went unnoticed by Peter as the two crossed the threshold into the Midtown High courtyard. She tried to grab his attention once more, but again he didn't even seem to notice anything, not even the loud screech of the school bell. Fine! MJ thought with a huff. She pivoted on her heel and stormed off for her first-period class, and her mood only soured more when she saw Ben walking Gwen to her first period.