Just some Peter and MJ fluff. Because why not? Anyway, it's August and so I'm definitely in the mood for a blizzard story, LOL! I wrote a similar scene for my book Mary Jane's Diary (find it on my profile!) and wanted to expand it. So here ya go! Enjoy! And if you do enjoy, please review! Blessed are they who review, for they shall receive more stories =P

Mary Jane shivered, tugging at the covers. Why was it so wretchedly cold? With a groan, she moved closer to the middle of the bed, feeling for her husband. But there was no one there. Suddenly wide awake, she sat straight up in bed, wrapping her trembling arms around her body. The thin "I ❤ Spider-Man" t-shirt and leggings she was wearing did little to block out the wintery chill that was blowing through the room. Dragging a flannel blanket from the bed, she wrapped it around herself and slipped to the floor, tiptoeing out into the living room of the tiny apartment. Ah, that was it. The french doors leading to the balcony were standing partially open. She slid them shut and sat on the floor beside them, shivering in the dark. On the opposite wall of the room was the gas fireplace. Perfect. Exactly what she needed on a night like tonight. In another minute, the dark room was dimly lit by the dancing, merry flames. Tossing the blanket in a heap on the floor, she moved over to the little kitchen, filling the electric kettle with water and flipping the switch on. As the kettle steamed and bubbled, she turned back to the french doors and leaned her forehead against them with a sigh. She peered out into the darkness, longing to see the familiar red and blue figure swinging back this way. But there was nothing, as far as she could see, and it could be hours before he was home again. In the brief months since their wedding, she had learned rather quickly that her husband was prone to disappear at any time of day or night, with absolutely no indication of when he would be back. Or if he would be back, she thought ruefully.

"This is the worst thing about being married to a superhero," she muttered as she switched the kettle off and filled a mug with the hot water. "The long, lonely nights… the endless waiting… Did I sign up for this?" she rummaged through the cupboard for the hot chocolate mix. "Guess I did," she grinned halfheartedly as she stirred her cocoa. "I just wish he didn't have to go out in blizzards like this. I should see if there's anything I can do about getting that suit winterized. Spandex, or lycra, or whatever he calls it, will never be enough to block out cold this fierce.

The wind was howling so savagely that the windows were rattling. The pitch kept rising higher and higher until it sounded almost like a creature in agony. Gritting her teeth, Mary Jane tried to block out the thought of her husband out there in that weather, freezing to the bone while he risked his life for the city. If only the city was properly grateful for his… and her… sacrifices, then it wouldn't be so hard.

The wind picked up even harder, slamming the already swiftly falling snow against the windows. Mary Jane groaned aloud as she heard the harsh patter of ice rain on the roof. It couldn't possibly get any worse than this. As if the snow was bad enough, now it had to turn to ice?

"Dear God, please bring him home soon," she whispered as she reached for the laptop she had left sitting on the side table. She typed "thermal fabrics" into the google search box and scrolled slowly through the results. Shaking her head, she scrolled back up and added "flexible" to the search words in the box. "I need a fabric store for this one," she sighed. Simply looking online would never tell her how warm and flexible the fabric actually was. And it needed to be thin too… None of the search results looked even remotely possible.

As the minutes slowly ticked by, stretching into hours, MJ set the laptop aside and leaned her head back against the wall. She was still sitting on the floor, in the corner closest to the window, although the armchair or the couch would both have been a lot warmer and more comfortable. She drifted off into sleep at last, not waking until she heard the light thump on the balcony outside. With a sigh of relief, she jumped to her feet, instantly wide awake, and threw the balcony doors open wide. The blizzard reciprocated angrily, a gust of icy wind hitting her full in the face with its stinging particles of ice rain. She drew back into the warmth of the apartment as the red and blue figure on the balcony flipped past her with a movement so fast it was scarcely detectable. She slammed the doors shut behind them, bolting them with an air of finality.

"Peter! It's freezing out there!"

"You're telling me," he answered wryly, his voice muffled by the mask. "Isn't a fit night out for man nor beast. Or spiders either, for that matter."

"Are you alright?" Mary Jane threw her arms around him, wincing as she felt the icy stiffness of the spandex fabric he wore.

"Depends on how you define the word 'alright'," he grimaced as she reached up to slowly peel the mask away from his face. It seemed almost frozen to his skin. His face was tired and pale beneath the mask, his eyes almost hollow. Frowning, she tossed the mask aside and lifted her hand to his cheek.

"How on earth does even the lowest of criminals find the cruelty to go out on a night like this?"

"It wasn't a criminal," he sighed as he sank to the floor. "It was a train wreck."

"A train wreck!"

"Full-on collision," he added ruefully. "One of them flipped off the rails. There were hundreds of people trapped that the rescue workers couldn't get to. It was horrible, MJ. I left at ten last night and now…" he glanced at the clock. "It's almost daybreak."

"If J. Jonah so much as dares to hint that you caused that wreck, I'll… I'll…" not finding a threat strong enough, she grit her teeth in frustration. She looked so comically fierce that Peter couldn't help but laugh.

"You do that, MJ. Whatever it was you were going to say."

"Well, J. Jonah's gonna have to wait," MJ grinned. "First we're gonna get you thawed out. Peter, your suit is absolutely coated with ice. You've got to get that thing off."

"Right now, I'd just rather not move," Peter groaned and stretched out on the floor. "I hurt all over, MJ."

"I'm not surprised," she said softly. "You're bleeding. Here, let me help." She tugged at the hidden zipper, carefully peeling his costume down off his shoulders. He hissed in pain, wincing at her touch. Mary Jane groaned inwardly at the angry red gash that curled around his chest and left shoulder.

"What happened here?"

"Crushed sheet metal has ragged edges," he said shortly. "Sharp as a razorblade."

"How many people did you get out?" Mary Jane spoke as she helped him strip off the rest of the costume, horrified at the way the ice rain had formed a complete layer over it.

"I lost count. A couple hundred. A lot of people died," his eyes looked almost haunted and Mary Jane's heart ached for him. She knew how heavily every death weighed on his conscience… even deaths that were impossible for him to prevent.

"You go get a hot shower and I'll pull out the first aid kit," Mary Jane switched subjects abruptly, not wanting to dwell on something that would make him upset. She couldn't begin to imagine what a terrible night he must have had, pulling terrified, wounded people and dead bodies out of the twisted wreck in all that horrible weather. She started the kettle again as she laid out the thick black thread and needle that she needed to patch up her husband again. In the months they had been married, she had become nothing short of an expert on first aid. Cuts and bruises, gashes, sprains… even broken bones… she had forced herself to overcome her own nervousness in her longing to help him. Broken bones, she reflected, were really the worst of all. And Peter was the most stubborn man she had ever known. He flatly refused to go to a hospital. Consequently, she had taught herself how to set a broken bone, more than once having to straighten out a twisted limb and construct a makeshift splint. Such an injury he could recover from in just a few days, thank God! The next worst injury was the kind he had tonight… these horrible jagged gashes. They needed dozens of stitches. At least she was really good at stitches.

Hearing him turn the shower off, she poured hot water into a mug and stirred in the hot chocolate mix, carrying it into the living room.

"Got any coffee?" Peter emerged from the bedroom, still rubbing a towel over his dripping hair. It stuck up in all directions, keeping in character with his usual disheveled look. He had donned sweatpants but remained shirtless, blood still trickling from the wounds on his shoulders and back. In spite of the blood, Mary Jane still caught her breath just to look at him… as she always did. She was still amazed at the chiseled muscles through his chest and shoulders, the well-defined lean strength of his torso…

"No coffee," Mary Jane realized she had been just standing there, staring at him, and snapped back to the present, blushing at the amused look dancing in his eyes. She shook her head emphatically. "You're going to get some rest, Tiger. Caffeine is off limits. But I've got cocoa."

"That's good enough for me. As long as it's hot. My insides are frozen."

"That… looks terrible…" MJ said faintly, her eyes roving over the jagged cuts that ran across his body. She handed him the steaming mug and he sat down on the edge of the oversized armchair, leaning over with his elbows on his knees as he clutched it with both hands. MJ slid into the chair behind him, threading her needle as she surveyed the damage. She laid her hand on his shoulder, feeling him still trembling inside as if he would never warm up again.

"I'm certainly glad you heal fast," she shook her head. "Otherwise you'd have been torn to shreds years ago. What on earth did you do before you married me?"

"Got along as best I could. And it was barely survival, you know."

"Yeah. I can relate." MJ whispered as she wiped away the dripping blood, holding the torn skin together as she carefully made the first stitch. He set the mug aside, clenching his hands into fists and gritting his teeth against the pain. She hated that she had to cause even more of it, but she was terribly afraid that someday he would bleed to death. Even with super-human strength, she was convinced that he wasn't entirely invincible.

"It's five degrees below zero out there," he glanced toward the window at the rising sun that was just barely showing through the swirling snow.

"Coldest day of this winter, so far," MJ frowned as she stitched across his back and moved up to his shoulder.

"It's a good thing the train wreck happened so close to the hospital," he added, his voice quieter. "I had to transport a lot of people really fast. I was afraid everyone would freeze to death before we could get them out of there."

"Well, I'm glad you were at least able to move around a lot. I bet that helped keep you warm."

"Did you know sweat can freeze?" Peter grinned wryly. "There just isn't much good about this kind of weather."

"Except staying inside together, in front of the fire…"

"But being stitched up isn't exactly my idea of a good time," he bit his lip to stifle a gasp of pain as she moved the needle through his skin.

"I'll be done soon," MJ disentangled herself from the chair, moving around to kneel in front of him as she stitched his chest. "You ought to consider wearing body armor."

"That would defeat the purpose of being flexible," Peter laughed. "Just imagine me trying to swing in full armor."

"Well, just the same," Mary Jane frowned. "I wish there was something more you could do to protect yourself. It seems… senseless… to put yourself in so much pain."

"It's worth it," he answered softly and the firm conviction that filled his eyes stopped her argument in its tracks. He was right, and the thousands of lives he had saved only further proved his point.

"There, I'm done." MJ sighed in relief as she wrapped gauze around his chest. "No swinging until those wounds start to close. Doctor's orders."

"Sure thing, Dr. Parker." Peter laughed. "As long as nothing else goes wrong. You know what, MJ? You're… amazing."

"So are you," she smiled. "Now you get in bed."

"Why? I'm perfectly comfortable here." He leaned back in the chair. "C'mon. It's big enough for two."

Mary Jane needed no second invitation. With a smile, she scooped up her blanket from where she had left it crumpled in the corner and climbed into the recliner beside him. She pressed her body next to his, wrapping the blanket around both of them together. He was still shivering, but she could feel his body relaxing against her.

"You're such a mess, Tiger," she teased him as she ran her fingers through his hair in attempt to straighten it. He didn't answer, although he smiled as he dropped his head wearily on her shoulder.

"Still cold?" She massaged his back and shoulders gently, feeling the tension leave the tight muscles beneath her fingers.

"Not anymore," he murmured, his eyelids drooping. "MJ?"

"What?"

"I love you." His breathing slowed as he fell asleep, completely exhausted by an entire night of saving lives. Mary Jane slipped her arms around him, holding him tightly as she laid her head on his, just savoring the feeling of having him close and safe beside her.

"I love you too, Tiger," she whispered, feeling the warmth of love spreading throughout her body.