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Mary Jane took a last glance at herself in the mirror before hearing the bathroom door finally open. Wearing a simple white top, blue jeans and sandals– a drastic change from her wedding dress and the minimal make-up that went with it, Mary Jane moved from her bedroom to grin at Peter's hair sticking in every direction as he exited the bathroom. Gazing down at his blue jeans, grey t-shirt and powder blue button up shirt; Peter subconsciously ran a hand through his hair, instantly taming his wild hairstyle.
"You look good Tiger." Mary Jane watched as Peter blushed before switching to a less awkward conversation, "So, do you want to eat out tonight, or stay in?"
"It's the evening all ready? Man, time flies." Peter shook his head before noticing that Mary Jane was still waiting for his answer. "Umm, eating in sounds good."
"Come on, the kitchen's through here." Mary Jane jerked her head to one side before going through an unlit doorway.
Peter entered the darkened room behind Mary Jane and quickly blinked his eyes as the lights suddenly flicked on, forcing his retinas to contract. Watching Mary Jane move around the kitchen, Peter felt a swarm of emotions rising within him. He was with Mary Jane Watson, the girl next door, the most popular girl in high school, the girl he'd loved since the fourth grade. And, better yet, she wanted to be with him. Peter shook his head, realizing that Mary Jane had asked him a question.
"I'm sorry, what did you ask?"
"I asked whether you wanted help me cook." Mary Jane repeated. She had seen the look in his eye before she brought him back to the present, a look that made a shiver run down her spine and dissolved any anger at his lack of attention.
Peter swallowed the rising nervousness in his throat as he made his first attempt at being playful with Mary Jane with the question, "Do you think it would be more romantic?"
Mary Jane opened her mouth to respond only to shut it a second later. Looking around her for a moment, as if gathering an answer, she leveled her gaze at Peter's blue eyes. "I think it would depend on what happened during the cooking." The twinkle in her eyes was not lost upon Peter, nor was the mischievous tone in her voice. "Come on, I've got a great craving for Chinese."
Mary Jane moved to the refrigerator and opened the freezer, pulling out a bag of frozen Chinese food. Shutting the door firmly, Mary Jane turned around, only to find Peter mere inches from her. As her eyes dipped from his eyes to his lips, Peter leaned in, capturing her lips with his own. Wrapping an arm around her waist as he pushed her back into the refrigerator, Peter barely registered the sound of the package of frozen food dropping to the floor, spreading cold ice crystals across his bare feet as Mary Jane's hands moved up to cup his face, desperately trying to grasp the sensations shooting through her body.
Pressing her body more firmly against the softly humming unit, Peter shifted his grasp on her back, accidentally hitting the ice vendor on the door, causing several ice cubes to spit out and hit Mary Jane in the side. Crying out as she broke the kiss, the pair moved apart before breaking out in laughter. After a moment, Peter cast a look of anxiety upon Mary Jane.
"What's wrong?" she asked, instantly worried.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so rash. I didn't mean to..." Peter trailed off, seeing the soft look of love in Mary Jane's eyes.
"I didn't mind. In fact, I..." Mary Jane blushed suddenly, and, to hide the pink tint upon her cheeks, crouched down to pick up the dropped bag of food. Upon standing back up, Mary Jane was met with Peter's strong gaze.
"In fact what?" he inquired softly.
Mary Jane was aware that the words sounded like soft velvet running out of his mouth at that moment, but focused on answering the question. "I enjoyed it." Mary Jane watched as Peter smiled shyly and only smiled in return before moving towards the stove.
If one were to be able to witness the next forty minutes or so inside Mary Jane's kitchen, they would be mesmerized at the way the pair moved in sync for cooking, both taking great amusement and enjoyment in being with the other. The laughter at Mary Jane's failed attempts to open the bag of frozen food would be followed with the hands-on sarcastic teaching of "How to Open a Bag of Frozen Food With Scissors" by Peter. The attention Peter would pay to every movement Mary Jane made would be reciprocated equally as Mary Jane watched Peter set the table, before quickly scrambling to stop the food from being over-cooked, much to the delight of Peter.
Sitting down, Mary Jane smiled as Peter brought two plates of steaming food to the table. Placing one in front of Mary Jane before moving to sit across from her, Peter watched as she inhaled the scent of the food.
"Smells good."
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Steaming water bubbles over a plate, washing the remains of a meal down the drain in the sink. A fork pushes bits of onion, pepper and chicken off another plate into the trashcan with a wet "plop." As the first plate is placed in the lower rack of the dishwasher, the second plate is handed over. Grasping the plate, two hands move against another, sending a shock of electricity through both parties' bodies. Two pairs of eyes meet slowly, and hold.
The plate, forgotten, drops into the sink with a loud clatter, water splashing over it, continuing on it's destined course down the drain. The hands' grip is strong; the appendage equivalent of the lips that press together, until the grip is broken, allowing hands to move to hold the other tighter. A sharp tingling in the brain of the male half of the pair causes the kiss to end suddenly. Laborious breaths break the silence of the moment before eyes meet a second time.
"I have to go." Peter whispered, his fingers tenderly tracing the defining line of Mary Jane's jaw. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I knew this would happen." Mary Jane smiled softly, the actress within her controlling her emotions so as to not upset Peter.
"I don't want you to think I don't want to be here," Peter paused, thinking how he could say everything, "I do want to be here, want you, want this, right now, but I have a responsibility."
"I know, Peter." Mary Jane blinked back tears fighting to fall, "Besides, we have our whole lives ahead of us, don't we?"
Peter didn't respond, merely nodded, his eyes dropping to the floor before he turned to leave. Moving through the small apartment, Peter slid into the bathroom. By the time Mary Jane arrived outside the door, Peter was changed and came back out. Pulling his mask down to his nose, Peter moved to stand directly in front of Mary Jane.
"I won't be long." Not waiting for any response, though, subconsciously craving one, Peter leaned down and kissed her softly before pulling back and jogging towards the balcony.
He could hear Mary Jane running behind him as he secured his mask under his chin and shot out a strand of webbing before jumping off the ledge. The guilt inside of him over leaving her- again- tore him apart, but Peter knew, or hoped with all his soul, that she could understand, and deal. The sounds of wailing sirens, and, unfortunately, a helicopter suddenly interrupted his thoughts. Great, now I'll be on the late show for insomniacs. Peter shook his head as he landed deftly beside one stopped police car.
"What seems to be the trouble officer?" Peter asked.
The cop jumped at his sudden appearance before calming down enough to answer him. "Spider-man, we have a group of men with five hostages inside the subway terminal. If we go in, we put the lives of those hostages in danger."
"Sounds like a job for me."
"Be careful." The officer called out as Peter swing up in the air before swinging down and into the subway terminal.
Mary Jane sat down in front of the television, intent on keeping herself busy while waiting for Peter to return. As the screen light up, a reporter's voice cut through clearly, causing Mary Jane's stomach to flip-flop.
"We are outside the North subway entrance, where less than ten minutes ago, a group of robbers took an as of yet unknown amount of hostages down into the terminal. Not a minute ago, Spider-man swung in and disappeared into the terminal. We have been able to access the terminal's security cameras, enabling us to see exactly what is happening down there right now, so I will..." Mary Jane tuned out the woman's voice as she watched the screen switch to a clear, black and white camera, holding her breath.
"Nobody move!" The gang leader yelled, causing the hostages to flinch, a murmur of fear shooting through all of them.
"What, are you planning on painting their portraits?" Peter mocked, swinging in and landing on a nearby wall.
"Spider-man! You do not want to mess with me." The leader growled, his hand balling into a fist, allowing a pair of brass knuckles to glimmer in the dim light.
"You know, that has been said so often, it's becoming corny." Peter cocked his head to one side before dodging a bullet fired from one of the robbers.
Flipping down off the wall, Peter landed in a crouch before shooting two balls of webbing at two of the robbers, knocking them over. Pouncing up, Peter landed on the stomach of the closest one, and jumped off, causing the man to convulse. Landing a foot in the temple of the leader, Peter crouched down and shot out a strand of webbing at a fourth robber's feet, effectively tripping him and binding his ankles together. Sensing the leader taking a swing at him from behind, Peter rolled forward before springing up and landing a solid punch to the fifth robber's jaw, knocking him out.
Mary Jane watched in fearful silence, her body rigidly perched on the edge of the couch seat, breathing all but forgotten. Her eyes widened as she saw Peter spin around, meeting the leader, only to receive a sound punch in his face. She watched as he stumbled backward before hopping back on his hands and springing forward, his feet connecting with the center of the robber's chest. Clutching a pillow to her chest, Mary Jane bit down on her lower lip as the man grabbed Peter's feet and threw him into a wall.
"And they call you a superhero." The robber laughed, moving forward as he spoke.
Peter groaned quietly before standing, his senses only giving him a second's head start on the attack. Blocking the first punch, the second collided underneath his jaw. The third hit his stomach, doubling him over before a knee slammed into his face. As Peter stumbled backwards, a fourth punch slammed into his face again, and this time, the brass knuckles tore mask and flesh. Crying out, Peter flipped back, kicking the man in the chin as he did so. Landing solidly in a more open area, Peter spun in a roundhouse kick that sent the leader sprawling. Shooting webbing out, Peter tied him up, and promptly strung him upside down from an overhead support beam. A moment of silence reigned before Peter turned to the five hostages.
"You're safe now." Peter nodded once before running towards the stairs.
Leaping onto the wall, he crawled out, the sound of thanks left in his wake. Once outside again, the hostages running up behind him and the police running down to apprehend the robbers, Peter jumped into the air, shot a line of webbing from his wrist, and swung off.
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Next chapter will be up soon.