Title: Memento

by: Satine16

Disclaimer: I do not lay claim to any of these characters. They are all property of MARVEL comics. I am not making any money. Please do not sue me!

Chapter 5: Moonlight Rendezvous

Mary Jane did exactly what Peter needed her to do. They both did the smartest thing Peter could think of at the moment. They ignored the entire incident. Pretended that it never happened. In Peter's mind that was the only way to cope with what had happened. If Mary Jane had come to him again asking what he thought of the whole thing he could not have answered. He wouldn't be able to refuse her, but he wouldn't be able to leave Gwen either. He could see himself as the luckiest man in the world, with two amazing women who both wanted him. Instead he saw himself as the most screwed asshole on the planet. He was with Gwen and he sent MJ the wrong signals and he was fucking up the entire situation. But he still had some things to work out in his mind. Some concepts to fully develop. He told Gwen that he had some work to do, and not to wait up, and took off. After putting in a good night's work, stopping three robberies and a potential kidnapping, and working off his excess frustration he headed to his final destination.

Mary Jane left her windows open that night. It was that perfect time in New York where the breeze is cool but the atmosphere is warm and it all balances out. She had put on her usual little cotton boy shirts and tank top. She lay starting at the ceiling. She couldn't help but wonder about Peter. Kissing him was so nice. She turned in her bed for what seemed to be the thousandth time that night. Sighing in frustration she vaulted out of bed and went to the bathroom to get a drink. When she left again he was standing on her balcony, his silhouette lit from the back by the pale moonlight.

"Hello," she said, a smile crossing her face.

"Hi there."

"Is something wrong?"
"Excuse me?"

"Well, it's just that you usually show up when something's gone wrong."

"Oh, yeah. Well, no. I just wanted to stop by. See how you were doing," as soon as the words left his lips he knew how stupid they really sounded.

"How did you know which window?"

"I asked your friend. The one with the camera."

"Oh," she said, secretly regretting having told Peter about her little crush. Yet since he was here maybe it had been the right thing to do.

"Come on," he extended his hand to her. He was going to tell her.

"Now? Where are we going? I'm in my pajamas," she said suddenly aware of the fact that she wasn't quite dressed.

"You're just going to have to trust me on this," she walked out onto the balcony to join him. The moonlight highlighted all the ripples in his flesh, making his hard, statuesque appearance even more beautiful.

"Of course I trust you," she said walking towards him. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Just hang on, alright," at this she wrapped her legs around him and he was suddenly happy that she couldn't see how freaked he was.

Burying her head in his shoulder she tightened her grip around his body. And suddenly they were falling. The air was blowing through her hair and all she could see was that they had dove off of her balcony. And just as quickly they had started moving through the cool night air. She closed her eyes to let the feel of the crisp night break against her skin, to let it contrast the undeniable heat his body gave off. Soon she noticed that they had stopped moving.

"You can let your feet down," he said placing his hands around her center to hold her in place. "Open your eyes."

As she did she realized how high in the air they really were. They were standing on one of the gargoyles on the Chrysler building. She quickly caught her breath, partially terrified by what she was seeing, but she felt his hands secure above her hips and it cut the terror in her immediate senses.

"Don't let go," her sentence came out as a mere exhale.

"I won't," his voice was strong behind her.

He watched her as she lifted her hands to her sides like wings.

"This is one of my favorite spots."

"I can see why," she responded smiling, "It's gorgeous up here. All the lights. Is this where you come to get away?"

"It depends on what I'm trying to get away from."

She moved her hands to where his were resting and placed them on top. Slowly she took his right hand in hers and lifted it to her face where she rested his palm against her cheek. Slowly she began to turn to face him.

"Careful!" he grabbed her as she slipped a little, causing her to fall into his body.

She looked into his face, unable to see behind the thick, opaque lenses he wore. Slowly she rested the palm of her hand against his cheek and ran her thumb over his cheekbone and jaw line. Feeling the little nuances of his face underneath the mask. She ran her other hand slowly up the taught muscles in his thigh and over the ripples in his torso. Her hand eventually reached the small emblem on his chest, and looking down at the detail, she traced it with a lingering forefinger.

All the while Peter's mind was an absolute frenzy, "I want to kiss her so badly. She looks so amazing. Oh Jesus, what the hell am I doing! I need to stop now. Before this gets too far. Who do I think I'm kidding? It's already gotten to be way too far. I can't do this to her, I'm totally abusing this whole superhero, masked man deal. Just because I'm not...oh...she's still touching me. Oh God! I can't do this. I need to stop. That's it! Done!"

"I should take you home," her head sparked to meet his eyes at these words and her finger stopped leisurely running across his chest.

"Oh," was all she could say, like a child who was just told that it was time to leave Disneyland.

He once again lifted her into his arms and she once again wrapped her legs around his middle. He coasted back to her apartment and landed smoothly on her balcony once again.

"Here we are."

"I see that. Thank you for taking me. It was really beautiful," he turned to leave and before he could she yelled out to him, "Wait!"

"Yes?"

"Can't I do something in return?"

Peter froze, "Holy shit! What the hell am I supposed to say to that?"

She saw him standing still at the edge of her balcony and quickly was at his side. She found the edge of his mask with her fingers and started to pull it up over his chin.

"Wait!"

"No. I know," and gently she began to tuck the edges in with her forefingers so that only the small section of his face below his nose was showing. His lips were very nice. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. At first she felt no response, and thought that maybe he hadn't wanted this, maybe she had read the signals incorrectly. But before she could really doubt she felt his response. He pressed her into the brick wall that stood behind them and as he did so she wrapped herself around his powerful torso. There was something so familiar in his attentiveness and in the way he kissed her, the way he tasted to her. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. It was four in the morning and she had been up for almost twenty-four hours now. All she could really think about was that she was kissing Spider-man. As her feet retouched the ground her head stopped spinning and she watched as he flipped off of her balcony for the second time that night.

Peter couldn't believe that he had done that. He officially hated himself.

"What the hell was that? Wasn't I just gonna tell her? Wasn't that the plan? And what do I do instead? I end up making out with her! I think my psychological side has shut down! And now I have to go home to Gwen and pretend I did nothing wrong! If I don't go home she'll think something is wrong, and I can't let her know. This would break her heart. Maybe I should just go and help monks! Monks! That is the answer! Monks are not at all sexy! I can help them and not let this get in the way. That's the new plan. I will go and live in a monastery and help the unattractive monks with their problems. Like crazy anti-monk people."

He came into the bedroom to find Gwen peacefully sleeping. Her silvery hair was fanned out on the pillow, and her dark lashes formed a thick, crescent shape. Her skin looked radiant in the moonlight. He slipped into the bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She stirred slightly and nuzzled into his frame. The feel of her satin nightgown was exquisite against his tired skin. He quickly fell asleep surrounded by her smell and her texture.

He awoke to her screams. Another one of her nightmares. Same as always. Her father was killed again and she was next. They came every so often.

"No! Stop it! NO!" she flailed in the bed screaming.

"Gwen, Gwen. Gwen, it's me. Shhh! Sweetie it's just me. It's Peter. You're safe."

Her eyes found his in the dimly lit room and he could see that her normally piercing, clear eyes were bloodshot and there were tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh sweetie. It's ok. I'm here," he pulled her towards him and she started crying on his chest. "As long as I'm here nothing's gonna happen to you. I won't let it. I'll keep you safe," he slowly ran his hands over the back of her satiny, white hair. Her sobs began to cease and as she slowly fell asleep in his arms, he whispered, "I'm never gonna let anyone hurt you."