As he entered the diner, he saw it was busy with lunchtime patrons. He groaned inwardly; he hated to wait. As he turned towards the door he saw her. He raised her hand to get his attention and smiling at him. How many times had he wished she would do that, he could remember. It made his heart soar to know that she cared, and yes that she loved him. He only wished that he could be honest with her about his feelings. But he couldn't risk her life by allowing her to know what he was.

There were times, well all the time that he questioned whether he was doing the right thing, for the right reasons. He felt guilty and jealous of how much attention Spiderman got. Jealous of himself, what a joke! Peter thought to himself. If Peter Parker walked into a crowded room of people, no one would even notice him. But as Spiderman, he could really shake up a room. Maybe it's the costume, Peter mused to himself, chuckling. Peter maneuvered towards MJ at the back of the diner, all at once excited and scared.

MJ sat at a booth as she waved to get Peter's attention. MJ's heart sped up a notch as she saw him walk towards her. Her feelings had not changed towards Peter, but she knew that he didn't, or couldn't, feel the same. So she decided that if his friendship is all she could have, well, then she would have it. She decided that she couldn't keep hiding from Peter, and called him. She was excited that he readily accepted her invitation to lunch, and she hoped that maybe over time Peter would tell her the truth. She knew that Peter loved her, but for some reason that only Peter knew, he couldn't say the words. Peter didn't seem like the male that MJ was used to dating. The ones that tell you what you want to hear, just so they can get what they wanted. Secretly she wished that Peter would do just that, just so she could hear the words. But it was not to be, MJ mused, the corners of her mouth turning down slightly in a frown as Peter drew closer. Peter wouldn't lie to her, MJ knew. But he was hiding something. MJ wanted desperately to ask him, but she didn't want to pry. I just wish…oh I don't know what I wish anymore, MJ thought quickly, shaking her head to clear her rambling thoughts. Peter is here, and that was a start.

As Peter moved towards the booth where MJ sat, he noticed the distant look and frown appear on her beautiful face. He wondered if he had caused that frown in some way. Probably not, Peter decided, girls like MJ always have their pick of guys. The last thought caught Peter up short. He didn't like the thought of MJ will other men. But there was nothing he could do to stop her. Except tell her that she should be with him, and that you've loved her since the day you saw her, Peter thought. But that wasn't an option; MJ had already been through so much with the Goblin. After that, Peter swore that she'd never be a victim of his fame again.

"Hey there, stranger!" MJ beamed as she stood up to embrace Peter. She closed her eyes for a brief moment to enjoy their mutual embrace. MJ leaned back from the embrace, running her hands lightly down Peter's arms. Through Peter's long sleeve t-shirt she felt the ridges and indentations of the obvious muscles there. She smiled coyly at Peter and said, "You been working out?"

Peter's eyes widened a little at her question, not knowing how to respond, but decided a partial truth would be okay. "A little bit." Peter explained as he moved away from her touch and sat in the booth.

"Feels like a lot more than a little." MJ proclaimed saucily as she took a seat opposite from Peter. Peter shrugged nonchalantly, not yet quite comfortable talking about his newly developed torso. Especially when it came to the opposite sex. As Spiderman, Peter had all the confidence in the world. He even "enjoyed" the comments made by the women of the city about his physic. Call it a guilty pleasure. But with MJ it was very different.

"SO, how are things going?" MJ asked as she peered over the menu she was looking through.

"Good, really good. How about you?"

"Good. I mean, its okay. Got to start somewhere, right?"

"Right. Have you talked to Harry?"

MJ rolled her eyes and leaned her arms onto the table, leaning closer towards Peter. "He calls me constantly. I've told him were through so many times, but he just wouldn't take a hint. He expects me to like him after what he tried to do to Spiderman in the papers. Did you see that crap?"

"Yeah, I saw it."

"It was horrible. He blames Spiderman for his father's death, but I think there's more to it than that. Spiderman wouldn't kill anyone for no reason, right?"

"Sure."

"I mean you know Spiderman. He's not like that, he couldn't be. I mean, how does a man go from saving hundreds of people, to killing one man. He had a reason, but Harry doesn't want to, or can't, see the truth." MJ paused as she looked at Peter's face, and realized that he was uncomfortable with the conversation.

"Oh God, you're still friends with Harry aren't you? I'm sorry; I didn't mean to rant like that about Harry. He just…" Peter reached over and took MJ's hand in his, lightly stroking his thumb over her knuckles reassuringly.

"Yeah, Harry's my friend. But so are you. Do you want me to say something about the phone calls?" Peter asked intently, maybe too intently cause it made MJ pause.

"I don't want to do anything to hurt your friendship with Harry. He hasn't called in the last week, so hopefully he's seen the light." MJ lightly squeezed Peter's hand and said, "Thanks for offer." She stared deeply into Peter's eyes and quickly released his hand, returning her attention on the menu.

"Let's eat. I'm starving!" MJ announced as Peter slowly returned to the land of the living.

"Wilson, pull over here." Harry commanded as he stared sharply at the couple in the window of the diner. MJ and Peter sat across from each other, Peter having just taken MJ's hand into him. Even from a distance Harry could see the caring, the connection, between MJ and Peter. The green monster of envy rose quickly within Harry as he thought about all the things he had tried to do to win back MJ's love. If I ever truly had it in the first place, Harry wondered to himself. Harry had sent hundreds of flower, presents, cards, anything and everything he could think of that would make MJ care about him. His flowers, he discovered, had been "donated" to the children's hospital; his presents returned to the merchants unopened, his cards returned to him marked "RETURN TO SENDER." MJ's refusal was clear, but Harry Osborne was used to getting what he wanted. He could wait. He had that patience to wait. His first goal was to destroy Spiderman, and with the "help" of Mary Jane Watson. The car moved on as Harry told the driver it was okay to continue.

MJ walked up from the subway, onto the street. It was late. She was rehearing at the local theatre and had lost track of time. But her spirit was buoyed by her lunch with Peter. After a few awkward moments in the beginning, she and Peter talked for 2 hours about so many subjects. Peter made her laugh a lot. Not because he was particularly funny, but his dry wit and unabashed intelligence made for a humorous combination. She had talked about her play that she was rehearsing for, and he had showed some photos he had just picked up. All in all, Mary Jane was happy. She hadn't been happy in a long while, and she hoped this tread would continue.

As she walked down the dimly light street deep in thought, she did not notice the black car slowly stalking her from behind. Nor did she see the car's occupants jump out and rush towards her. The two men grabbed her, covering her mouth and nose with a cloth soaked in a pungent liquid. As MJ struggled with her attackers, the fumes from the cloth slowly started to take affect. MJ's eyes rolled back into head as she slipped unconscious. The two thugs quickly scooped her up, looking worriedly up for any sign of Spiderman.

"C'mon move it. I don't want that web crawler getting' wind that we've got his girl."

"How do you know she's his girl?"

"The boss said that this was a surefire way of getting' him. Now, c'mon." The thugs moved quickly to but MJ in the car. "Be careful, boss doesn't want he to be hurt. Alright, we're in! Let's go!"

The car sped off into the night with no sign of Spiderman anywhere.